


Spring Break Blunders

by pennysparrow



Series: A crooked politician? Yeah but that ain't news no more [9]
Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Puns, Crossover, Dancing, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Fencing, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Mild Language, Modern Era, Movie Night, Museums, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The Fourth Wall Does Not Exist, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-11-05 09:16:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17916023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennysparrow/pseuds/pennysparrow
Summary: Katherine gets to spend her spring break in D.C. with some of her favorite people from her semester there. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

Spring Break lasted a week and there was no way Kath was going to be spending it at home. She’d made it through the month between semesters by _not_ being home as much as possible. Now though she didn’t have the luxury or the excuse of being busy with Newsies business to get her out of the house and away from her dad.

Besides, her friends all had plans. Or had plans foist upon them. Jack and Charlie were being taken camping with Medda, David was working, Specs was visiting family, and Kath wasn’t spending a whole week with Spot and Racetrack. Originally, she was going to head to Philly with Sarah but that had fallen through when the other girl’s Etsy shop got slammed with orders so she now had to spend the break catching up.

Katherine wasn’t going to let the sudden change of plans get her down though. She was stubborn. She would figure something out.

She tried getting Darcy to let her come visit him at college; but her break wound up lining up with his midterms and they both grimaced and decided not to. So, Kath called Bill to see about going to see him. The same problem. Cursing her bad luck Katherine had just about resigned herself to her fate when a moment of divine intervention struck via a Theremin riff from her phone.

“Enj!” she practically cheered upon picking it up, rushing to close her bedroom door to keep out prying ears. “You’re a genius!”

 _“Um… thanks?”_ Was Enjolras’s startled and confused reply. Katherine could picture his brows furrowing as he said it.

“Anytime!”

_“Is there a reason for that or…?”_

“Well you called me so you go first.” Kath had sat herself down on her bed, pulling her laptop towards her from where it was currently resting on her nightstand. She pressed her phone between her cheek and shoulder in order to open it and start pulling up train ticket information.

_“Ok. Well, I realize this is probably a little late and if you already have plans then by all means disregard this, but you mentioned that you might want to try and come down for spring break? If you don’t anymore that’s fine. Really. But, um, I wanted to invite you anyway.”_

Katherine was nearly bouncing as he finished. She could tell he really wanted her to come, the rambling that his normally careful speech had taken on was a sign of how nervous he was that she’d say no. Luckily for Enjolras, Kath was about to ask if she could come and spend the week herself. Her luck might just be turning around yet.

“Ohmygod,” Kath let out in a breath. “Yes! Yes! Yes yes yes! So, my break starts March First, technically. I’m looking up train tickets now. Is that ok? Can I stay the week?”

Enj laughed and she could hear his excited pacing, floorboards creaking slightly in the background. _“Yes. Absolutely. Of course. So what, you’ll get here Friday night? Leave the following Sunday?”_

“If you’re ok with that?”

_“Of course, I’m ok with that! Does anyone want to come with? Because we’ve got the space and Ferre is going to a big conference so he said someone could even stay in his room.”_

“Everyone had plans already. To be completely honest I had just been about to ask you if I could come down because if I’m stuck here with nothing to do I might actually kill my dad,” Kath admitted.

 _“I thought that R was going to do that?”_ Enjolras joked and Kath could hear his smirk.

“And I’d told you all before that there is a line.”

Enjolras laughed, loud and genuine and Katherine grinned at getting that reaction from him. _“Ok, fair enough. So, you ok with having a whole week with just me, Grantaire, and Courf?”_

“Is everyone else going home?” Katherine asked curiously.

_“Some are. But American still has classes so you won’t see Cosette and Jehan and Feuilly during the day, but we can still hang out when they’re done.”_

“What about Eponine and Gavroche?”

_“She’s been convinced to go to the beach with Bahorel and they’re taking Azelma and Gavroche.”_

“Convinced to go to the beach? That sounds… Well… Not how that actually happened.” Katherine was fighting not to laugh. She could only imagine the kind of chaos that Bahorel and Gav could come up with at the beach when it was too cold yet to swim.

Enjolras laughed. _“Bahorel told Gav that his family had a cottage on the beach and promised to take him. The breaks lined up and now Eponine doesn’t really have a choice.”_

Katherine snorted. “Of course,” she muttered. With a final tap on her laptop her train tickets were purchased and her father’s credit card charged. “Ok! We are a go! I’ll be arriving in D.C. about seven on Friday night.”

 _“Brilliant.”_ Katherine could hear Enjolras’s smile.

“Katherine dear! Start getting ready to leave!” came her mother’s call from somewhere down the hall. She was home for the night for a charity event her family was hosting. The few hours she had spent after class getting ready had been what really drove the need to spend break anywhere but here home. The ability to tell her parents that she would be heading to D.C. thrilled her.

“Hey Enj, I’m really sorry but I’ve gotta run. I’ll text you later?” Katherine set her laptop aside and made to slip her heels on.

_“No worries. Bye Kath.”_

She smiled down at her phone after the call ended. Katherine would get to spend an entire week with one of her best friends. A week where neither of them had classes or work or activist activities. Or at least not any _planned_ activist activities. In a city that still held a little piece of her heart, that after three months definitely made up a chunk of her soul. A society event and a week of classes and then she’d be free.

~

Katherine spent the train ride binging _The Umbrella Academy_ and she was a little bit obsessed. Jack and Charlie had watched it and refused to stop talking about it, managing to get just about all her other friends to at least start it and Kath was going a little crazy not knowing what they were referencing. When the ABC chat she was in blew up and Musichetta and Eponine kept going on and on about the soundtrack she knew she really didn’t have another choice at this point.

So, Kath managed to get through the first three episodes, having been hooked after the first. She was so engrossed that she’d nearly forgotten to text Enjolras when the announcement came on that they were nearing D.C.

Katherine got off the train in a daze, still worrying about Klaus, and moved toward the metro station on autopilot.

“Katherine!” a voice called, jarring her back to the real world. “Katherine!” the call came again and another joined it with a “Kath! Kath! Turn around!” Doing as instructed she turned and caught sight of a trio of boys, the shortest was waving his arms above his head frantically as a huge and infectious grin split his face. The other two held a poster board with ‘Katherine Plumber’ painted on it. The blonde was also smiling widely while the dark-haired boy smirked at the antics.

Laughing, Kath changed direction and hurried over to them. Since his hands were free Courfeyrac was the one to pull her into a hug first. Katherine squeezed him back and ruffled his fluffy curls affectionately when he finally let go. Enjolras instantly swooped in to hug her next. He actually lifted her off the ground slightly and Kath couldn’t help but laugh as she looped her arms around his neck.

“Last and definitely least,” Grantaire joked, passing the sign to Courf. Katherine made a face at him for the self-deprecation; Enj grumbled at the comment as well. R sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine, equal as all people should be. Do I get my hug now?”

“Yes, but only because I missed you,” Katherine told him. Grantaire still gave some of the best hugs even as he grumbled in her ear.

“C’mon, we’re illegally parked,” Courf said, already pulling her suitcase around behind him as he walked.

“I’m sorry, what?” Kath looked between them, hoping for some sort of explanation. She got none. She did get hurried by Grantaire as he kept his arm around her shoulders. Enjolras was pulling keys out of his pocket and his strides were becoming longer and longer, soon outpacing Courfeyrac who had started almost jogging to try and keep up. Katherine shot a questioning look at R who just picked up his own pace.

They made it out of the station and to the side street where a beat-up little sliver VW Jetta was indeed illegally parked. Enjolras was sliding into the driver’s seat as Courf closed the trunk on her suitcase. Katherine slipped her backpack off and onto the floor of the backseat as she was ushered inside. Grantaire jumped into the front and Courfeyrac slid in beside her.

“Everyone buckled?” Enj asked. It seemed a bit redundant though because he’d already started the car and was pulling into traffic.

Katherine hastily did so. “You know,” she started, “I’d forgotten you had a car.”

“Well it’s so much easier to just not use it. Plus, then I’m not contributing to the strain on the infrastructure and the environment,” Enjolras said, glancing at her quickly in the rearview mirror.

It made sense, but then… “Why use it today?”

“So much easier to just deal with the traffic than the bus schedule,” R laughed.

Enj made a noncommittal noise as beside her Courf snorted. “Plus, we’re taking you to this great ramen place in Arlington for dinner and it is actually easier to just drive.”

“Oh great, just what every college student wants- Ramen,” Kath quipped. Enjolras only snorted but she was rewarded with chuckles from Courf and Grantaire.

“Could be worse, we could be making you make your own ramen,” R suggested, turning around in his seat to shoot her a wicked smile.

Katherine stuck her tongue out at him, receiving an eyebrow waggle in reply.

“C’mon R,” Courfeyrac started in a teasing tone, “use your noodle. That would just be poor hosting.”

Katherine whipped her head to look over at Courf as Enj whipped the wheel to make a turn before the light changed, throwing her into Courfeyrac even with her seatbelt having been firmly buckled.

“That was just awful,” Enjolras said calmly, smirking at the two of them in the rearview mirror.

“You sir are a hazard,” Kath scolded, sitting back up. Courf simply continued to laugh wildly next to her. From the driver’s seat Enjolras hummed. Grantaire turned around again to flash her another grin before hastily facing front once more and, Kath noticed, grabbing the Oh Shit Bar as Enjolras wove through traffic. She wasn’t religious – as far as she knew no one in her family was – but in that moment Katherine prayed to anyone who would listen that they all made it out of the car in one piece at the end of the night.

~

Watching Courfeyrac tug her suitcase out of the Jetta’s trunk reminded Katherine that she should’ve just gotten it herself. But sitting on the brick patio in the Triumvirate House’s little back garden was far preferable to being anywhere near that car. Yes, they had made it to dinner and then home safely, but Kath was more than a little concerned as to how Enjolras had gotten his license. And she was a New Yorker. And regularly received rides from Racetrack Higgins. Specs was officially no longer allowed to give her shit about her inability to drive.

Which reminded her, “Hey Enj?” the blonde looked over his shoulder from where he was unlocking the backdoor, the poster they’d made for her tucked under his arm. “How comes you’re so overprotective of your car if you have absolutely no sense of self-preservation when you drive it?”

Pausing with the key still in the lock he opened his mouth, a stormy expression clouding his features. She could see him stop to think about it a bit more as his brows pulled together and his mouth closed into a frown. This quickly turned into a smug look though. “Because it is yet another failing of the public education system as I was obviously incorrectly taught and yet received government approval to operate a motor vehicle. Maybe if I had a proper driver’s education course…” Enjolras trailed off, looking as though he had just played his trump card.

“For fuck’s sake. You went to a private school,” Grantaire said and Katherine was just glad that it meant she didn’t have to. “So just own up to the fact that you’re an aggressive driver and let us in the house, I have to pee.”

Enjolras huffed but obliged, stepping into the kitchen with Grantaire on his heels. Courf walked up to where Kath had yet to move from her spot on the bricks, tugging her suitcase behind him. He offered her his free hand and Katherine took it, letting Courfeyrac tug her to her feet. When she let go he motioned towards the door with a flourish. Kath smiled her thanks and bound up the steps.

The House didn’t seem to have changed in the months since she’d been there last. At least the kitchen hadn’t. She smiled at the familiarity of the modern fixtures and sleek appliances that were so at odds with the rest of the rooms. Her eyes fell on a note that had been left standing on the island counter, her name written in careful print.

Picking it up Katherine flicked it open. A smile grew on her face as her eyes moved across the page. It was from Combeferre; apologizing for missing her, wishing her a nice time, and asking that she not let the House burn down in his absence.

“He left this afternoon, was super bummed he wasn’t going to be able to see you at all,” Courf said from her elbow. “D’you want me to take this upstairs for you?” he asked of her suitcase.

“Nah, I’ve got it.” Kath assured him.

Courf nodded. “We gave you the nice guest room, on the third floor.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“But we wanted to,” Enjolras said, walking back into the kitchen. “And now it’s been properly labeled.”

Katherine raised an eyebrow at that but Enjolras just blinked back at her innocently. She glanced over at Courfeyrac who held his hands up, shrugging. Kath grabbed her suitcase and set off for the stairs. She reached the third-floor landing and saw what Enj was referring to. The floor’s spare room had the poster with her name on attached to the door. She laughed at how much of a dork Enj was and pushed it open, dropping her backpack on the bed and setting her suitcase at its foot.

She headed back downstairs and found the boys sprawled out across the living room. Courfeyrac had his legs tangled up with Grantaire’s on the couch while Enjolras sprawled on his back on the rug. R was reading a well-loved paperback of _American Gods_ , smiling over the top of it at Enjolras as he waved his hands in the air to gesticulate some point. Katherine leaned against the doorframe and just observed.

“It would just make so much sense! Back me up here R!” Enj was saying. Katherine had no idea what he was expecting to be backed up on but Grantaire was more likely to disagree with Enjolras just to be ornery than anything.

“Well Persephone was Hades’s wife and Pluto is the Roman name for Hades,” Grantaire said, tilting his head to the side and lowering his book. A mischievous look began to flash in his eyes. “But I still think that Pluto never should’ve been demoted in the first place.”

“Viva la Pluto!” Courfeyrac chimed in, pumping his fist in the air.

“Well of course not.” Enjolras waved the thought away. “But since it was, Persephone would be a fitting way to honor it.”

“Oh, for sure,” Courf nodded, hair flopping. “It would just be so sweet to have this new planet-”

“Possible,” Grantaire interjected.

Courf rolled his eyes but continued. “Possible planet be called Persephone. A fitting tribute to our dear Pluto, remain with the theme, and bring a little more equality to the solar system.”

Katherine was curious and the love seat that was normally pushed against the bookshelves during parties was looking exceedingly comfortable. So, she crossed the room and joined the conversation. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well that is the ABC’s goal you know, equality.” Courfeyrac waggled his eyebrows and they all groaned but it was in amusement at the pun. “Plus, Venus is the only planet that’s named after a goddess.”

Katherine thought about it and he was right, she’d never noticed that before. “Huh.”

“I’m still pissed about Pluto though,” Enj muttered from the floor. He’d crossed his arms above his head and was staring at the ceiling as though the crown molding had personally offended him.

“Let it go man. It’s been how many years now?” Grantaire said, going back to his book.

“Viva la Pluto, Elsa! Stick up for your fellow mouseketeer!” Courfeyrac chucked a pillow at R.

“So _that’s_ why they’re called throw pillows,” Enj observed dryly.

Katherine cackled. She couldn’t help it; these boys were such nerds and their jokes were terrible and she’d missed them horribly.

“And here I thought they were to cushion your ego.” R let the pillow that had hit him in the head fall and land squarely on Enjolras’s stomach, making the blonde let out a soft “oof” at the impact.

“I’m sure this is a hard _pill_ for you to swal _low_ , but mine is nothing compared to yours,” Enjolras smirked, lobbing the pillow back at Grantaire.

Courf clapped in delight. “Clever, clever!”

Grantaire was smiling as he shook his head. “You’re terrible but at least you’re nowhere near as bad as Joly and Bossuet,” he said. “And you,” R turned to Courfeyrac and tossed the pillow back to him, “are just as terrible and should quit encouraging him.”

Katherine just continued to laugh as Courf rolled his eyes, his delighted smile betraying him. “You scold me and yet Kath continues to laugh. That right there is true encouragement.”

“But I’m equal opportunity encouragement, and I know how you all feel about equality.” Katherine was just barely able to keep a straight face as she said that. Luckily, she was rewarded with a mix of laughs and groans.

“Yeah, no, with that I’m tapping out. Have fun tomorrow while I slave away in front of a canvas all day,” R said as he began to untangle himself from Courfeyrac. He clasped his hand with Enjolras’s outstretched one as he passed before heading up the steps.

“He’s got his portfolio project to work on,” Enj said, answering Katherine’s unasked question.

“Right, Jack was saying something about how it was nice to have someone to bitch with that wasn’t actually in his class the other day.” Katherine recalled Jack’s delight as he told her all about how Grantaire’s professor was just as ridiculous as his own apparently.

“It’s too bad because we were going to take you to Milk Bar tomorrow,” Courfeyrac frowned.

Katherine raised an eyebrow. She was tired from travel and the late hour and her full stomach, but she was pretty sure she had heard Courf right.

“Must we?” Enjolras asked and received an affronted look from his friend on the sofa. “It’s just so udderly bougie.”

Courf lit up in delight. “I thought you were milking that for a joke.”

“Now Courf, would I really make a mooove like that?” Enj pushed himself up so that he was leaning back on his elbows and grinning at Courfeyrac.

“I am cowed, otherwise I would say yes,” Courfeyrac responded quickly.

Katherine shook her head. “R left at the right time,” she muttered.

The boys laughed and the puns came to a temporary ceasefire. Katherine loved them, they were awful, but she was getting close to being too tired to enjoy them.

“Would anyone care to tell me what we’re really talking about?” she tried.

“It’s this ice cream place. Super insta-worthy. Admittedly also super bougie,” Courf told her. He tapped at his phone before passing it to her. The pictures and the logo looked familiar.

“Oh! We have one of these in New York! But Big Gay Ice Cream is better.” Kath passed him back his phone.

“Yes,” Courfeyrac said, as though that were a given.

“We’re going to do other stuff too, obviously, but _someone_ wants to do an ice cream place a day. So, we mapped them out,” Enj explained.

Kath looked between the two of them in disbelief. But then she remembered who she was looking at and threw up her hands in defeat. “Of course you did. Where else are we going?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The planet name conversation was inspired by a tumblr post of the same topic that I deeply agree with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disney thought this was the perfect logline so I'll preface the chapter with this: Minimal puns. Maximum caffeine.

When Kath came down for breakfast the next morning she was greeted by the scents of cinnamon and maple syrup before she even reached the kitchen. She felt overdressed – having thrown on jeans and an oversized flannel over a t-shirt and her docs – when compared to Courfeyrac who was standing at the stove in boxers and a t-shirt that was so big it was hanging off one of his shoulders. His curls were a riotous cloud, but nothing compared to Enjolras’s bedhead.

The blonde was slumped on the island, nursing a cup of coffee with another steaming mug set next to him in the place that Katherine had taken to occupying. She slipped onto the stool and looked over at him. Enjolras’s hair was longer than the last time she’d seen him; he’d started growing it out as soon as their internship ended. In late December it had been a halo that covered the back of his neck but was still too short to tie back with anything more than a headband. Now it had gotten long enough that he was able to wrangle it into two little pigtails. Two little pigtails that were thoroughly mussed and half fallen out from sleep.

Katherine sipped her coffee as Courf passed her a plate full of French toast. She reached out a slow hand and flicked lightly at the little bundle of hair just behind Enj’s ear. He turned his head slowly to look at her, Katherine’s hand was still outstretched in guilt.

“Yes?” Enj drawled, taking a long sip from his own mug.

“Sorry,” Katherine winced, withdrawing her hand. “They’re just so… cute?”

“They really are,” Courfeyrac agreed. He turned off the stove and came to sit on Enjolras’s other side. “I don’t know how people didn’t constantly tug on them the first time you grew it out.”

Enj shrugged. “I was sixteen and admittedly a bit intense. They were probably too terrified.”

Kath snorted. “At least you’re self-aware. Also, you’re still intense and terrifying.”

Courfeyrac started giggling at that while Enjolras shrugged.

“You’re quiet this morning,” Kath observed.

“This is only my first cup,” Enjolras admitted and Katherine nodded in understanding.

A slight crash could be heard from above them, Courfeyrac winced but Kath and Enj were still too undercaffeinated to react. A few minutes later brought Grantaire stumbling into the kitchen. Like Katherine he was fully dressed though he was muttering a steady stream of curses under his breath as he bustled around. The three seated at the island just watched in mild interest as he stuffed French toast into his mouth.

“Where’s my thermos?” R asked, frantically rifling through a cabinet.

Enjolras pointed to where it rested, filled, next to the sink. Grantaire looked from Enjolras to the overlarge thermos. He snatched it up and crossed the kitchen, giving Enj a quick peck on the cheek and spinning to walk backward down the hall.

“Sorry, I’m-” he started.

“Late,” Courf and Enj filled in.

Grantaire winced. “Yeah. Only got so much studio time, unless you want me to make a mess in here. See you!” With that he was rushing toward the front door and then he was gone.

“I keep saying we could just turn the room next to Gav’s into a studio, but he keeps saying no.” Enj twisted his expression into one of mild annoyance.

Shrugging Courf stood to start cleaning up. “You know he already feels bad about us not letting him pay rent.”

Katherine had the feeling this was a well-worn argument, one that she knew of in the vaguest sense thanks to impressions and comments but not one she had all the details too. It seemed like that was going to change.

“Because our parents are the ones who own it. An ‘investment property’ and so it’s not like the three of us are paying for it. We wouldn’t make Gav pay rent too. Besides, he’s my boyfriend and I’d have asked him to live with me even if he hadn’t needed the place.” Enjolras seemed to be perking up, the argument and coffee having that effect on him.

“But you know R,” Courf said, “he doesn’t always see it like that even if he _knows_ that’s the truth. So he’s probably not going to ever let you turn that room into a studio unless you just decide to go ahead and do it one day. Though how you’d manage it I have no idea since neither of us know anything about art studios.”

Enjolras slumped, his lower lip sticking out in a slight pout. Katherine could see it the minute an idea struck him though. He straightened and his stupidly blue eyes sparkled when he turned to meet hers. The air felt charged with a sense of purpose though Kath wasn’t quite sure what the energy would be going towards she could already tell she was going to be involved with how infectious it was. She mirrored Enj’s smile, if somewhat confusedly. Courf must have felt the shift because he turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“Katherine…” Enj started. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about art studios?”

“Only what Jack’s told me. But they weren’t leaving to go camping until tomorrow so we could always call him…” she trailed off, noticing Enjolras nodding at the plan that must have been falling into place.

Courfeyrac gasped in delight. “You sneaky bastard. I’m so in.”

Katherine felt her smile falter. The energy was so infectious, especially now that Courf had started practically radiating his own excitement, that she’d nearly forgotten that she had no idea what they were plotting. A couple months away and Katherine was ever so slightly out of synch. It was weird but she knew in a couple hours everything would fall back into place.

Still, right now she was still in the dark as to the plot she’d fallen into. “In for what? What’re we doing?”

Enj smirked at her. “We’re turning the room next to Gav’s into a studio for Grantaire.”

~

Jack had been a huge help, offering thoughts on what needed to be purchased and what of the room’s current furnishings would be able to stay and what would have to go. Facetime was always one of Katherine’s favorite technological advancements, this just sealed the deal. They thanked him profusely and promised to send pictures before setting about moving furniture.

The cheap desk and bookshelves plus the tall light in the far corner could all stay but the bed and nightstand definitely needed to go. Kath grabbed the nightstand and set off towards the basement while the boys went to work on taking the bed apart. By the time she made it back up to the second floor it was ready to go.

Enjolras had called his parents, who were the closest since they lived in Alexandria, and they had agreed to coming and picking up the bed the next day. In the meantime, they’d have to wrangle it down to the basement too. Katherine picked up the deconstructed frame and headed down first, Enj and Courf behind her with the headboard. The box spring and mattress were next and took all three of them to maneuver each down the steep stairs and through the narrow hall.

With that done it was time to collapse on the plush living room rug and set to work on research. Enjolras had written out a list as Jack talked about supplies and pulled it out now. Dividing it into thirds they each went to work googling the nearest places to buy what. In some cases they ended up calling and placing whatever it was on hold. By lunch they had a route mapped out.

“Ok, sandwiches or do you want to just stop someplace while we’re out?” Courf asked, getting to his feet to stretch.

“I don’t care. Katherine, you’re our guest, what do you want?”

Kath snorted at that. “Guest? Um no. I’m your temporary roommate and we all know that. So yeah, I have no preference.”

Courfeyrac laughed, picking up his laptop and setting it on the table under the front window. “For two people with such strong opinions you’re weirdly apathetic towards lunch.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes, getting to his own feet. “Because it’s not high on my priorities,” he teased, leaning to poke at Courf’s side. Courfeyrac swatted at his hand before being forced to spin away.

“How about a compromise?” Kath suggested, trying not to laugh at their antics. “Pret?”

“Panera?” Courf countered with a shimmy.

Katherine nodded decisively. “Panera.”

“Sure,” Enj said, giving up on his attempted tickle attack on Courfeyrac.

~

“Aw fuck,” Katherine muttered as she faced the silver Jetta.

“What?” Enj asked in concern.

She pointed at the car and then gestured vaguely back at him. “You. Driving. Your bad driving.”

“I am _not_ a bad driver.” Enj sounded offended. He looked offended. Katherine didn’t feel bad. She stuck by her statement from the night before, he was a hazard.

“Well…” Courfeyrac grimaced. “You’re not exactly the _best_ driver either, Enj.”

Scoffing, Enjolras turned on his friend. “I am hurt.”

“You’re going to hurt _somebody_ ,” Katherine said under her breath. He still heard her though because he shot her a glare and Katherine gave a hasty grin in apology back.

“You’re just aggressive is all,” Courfeyrac tried to explain. “Which isn’t a bad thing in the city! And since you learned to drive in that kind of environment it makes sense!”

That seemed to smooth things over because Enjolras nodded and continued to walk towards the driver’s door. Katherine still hadn’t moved.

“Yeah… I’m calling shotgun,” she said, looking at Courfeyrac seriously.

“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug.

~

They managed to purchase everything – splitting the cost between the three of their parents’ credit cards – and make it back to Georgetown in one piece. Enjolras only got flipped off three times and honked at once; a record according to Courf. Though Katherine was thankful she’d finished her hot chocolate in Panera rather than the car because she was pretty sure it would’ve wound up in her lap.

Katherine held her arms out as Courfeyrac piled the drop clothes into them from the backseat, meanwhile Enjolras was maneuvering the box with the easel in out of the trunk.

It took a few trips from the Jetta to the second floor and back but eventually all the new and necessary supplies were piled on the floor. They’d agreed that Grantaire should have the final say as to where things went, it was his studio, but they could still put the easel together and start setting things up.

Courfeyrac set off to find the toolbox they kept around for minor repairs while Enjolras went to get the art supplies Grantaire had been storing in their room. Kath sat herself down on the floor with her pocket knife and set to work opening boxes.

At some point in the midst of screws and direction manuals and deciding if it was easier to understand in English, French, or Portuguese Courf disappeared and returned with his Bluetooth speaker in hand. He fiddled with his phone and a familiar voice came out of the speaker. Katherine bopped her head along and twisted the booklet again, narrowing her eyes at the diagram.

“The Lumineers?” she finally said.

Courf lifted his head from where he’d been lying on the floor trying to reach the outlet under the desk to plug in a power strip. “Yeah! You like them?”

Kath shrugged. “Sarah does. I’m not really into folk stuff but they’re not really folk, are they?” She gave a wry twist of her lips and Courf chuckled.

“I’m a bit fond of them. I heard Ophelia on the radio once and kinda flipped a couple years ago.” Courfeyrac’s voice was a bit muffled as he continued in his attempt with the power strip.

They still managed to make out what he was saying though and Enj chuckled. “Kinda flipped? You were in a _Hamlet_ phase and wouldn’t stop going on about how someone had written a song about her and how well you thought they understood the character. I have a distinct memory of locking you, Jehan, Bahorel, and R out on the patio once because you wouldn’t shut up about it.” The look Enjolras gave him was fond if long suffering.

Katherine had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. “You had a _Hamlet_ phase?” she asked incredulously.

“ _Everyone_ has a _Hamlet_ phase,” Courf sniffed. “Some people just call it _The Lion King_.”

Kath tried, really she did, but that was just too much for her. She burst out laughing, letting the manual slip from her fingers as she threw her head back and clutched at her sides. Enjolras groaned, picking up the abandoned directions that hadn’t really been much help anyway and throwing them at Courf’s butt from where it stuck out from under the desk.

~

“Guys?” Grantaire’s muffled call came from upstairs. “Why did you wrapping paper the door up here?”

He had wandered back down into the kitchen as he spoke and looked between Kath, Courf, and Enj in puzzlement. They were all gathered around the island nursing their sixth or seventh coffees of the day. Or at least Kath and Enj were, Courf had made a big pitcher of iced tea for himself. Well everyone, but mostly himself.

“Maybe because it’s a present?” Enjolras suggested. He sipped his coffee with a perfect poker face. Kath made a mental note to get him to play Bullshit with her at some point during the week.

R screwed his face up in confusion. “Ok?”

“Do you have any dinner suggestions?” Courfeyrac asked offhandedly, looking up from his phone.

Blinking at the sudden topic change Grantaire shook his head.

“Hmm, pity. Oh! We never did make it to Milk Bar today in our travels!” Courf seemed as though this were some great lost which Kath really wouldn’t consider it as.

“We could still go after dinner,” Enj suggested mildly.

“Or,” Kath interjected, “we could go to Ri Ra for dinner and then walk to Baked and Wired?”

“Yes,” Enjolras said decisively.

“Well that settles it,” Courf smirked.

Grantaire still stood at the edge of the island with an air of confusion about him. Katherine felt a bit bad about it, but a surprise was well worth keeping him out of the loop.

After a few more seconds R nodded. “Yeah, sure, let me just put my stuff away and change.”

Kath flashed him a smile as he turned to leave. Once he was out of earshot she learned toward the others and spoke in a low voice. “When are you going to tell him?”

“When the opportunity presents itself,” Enjolras said evenly.

“And that wasn’t it?” Katherine asked, knowing he’d know she meant the door question.

“No.” Enj looked smug and mischievous. A combination that she learned to be wary of.

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be great,” Courfeyrac said with confidence. He poured himself another glass of iced tea when they heard it. The pounding of feet down the attic steps. And then the steps to the third floor. And then the second. And then the yelling.

“Where the _fuck_ is all my shit?!”

“A new home,” Enjolras said calmly.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean? If you’re kicking me out then just tell me, don’t fuck with my head,” R snarled and Enjolras looked like he’d been slapped in the face. Katherine could hear Courfeyrac wince and felt herself flinch without meaning to.

“What?” Enjolras’s composure slipped. “No. I’d never do that. _This_ is your home. Why would I kick you out? I love you. No. I- We- It’s a present…” he trailed off, frustrated at his loss of words from being so blindsided.

Grantaire deflated, gaping at them before he screwed his eyes shut and pressed his hands to his temples. “Ugh. Fuck. Sorry. I really jumped to conclusions and over reacted there, huh?” He gave a dark chuckle before opening his eyes and grimacing.

Kath made to go to him, to wrap R up in a hug as tight as the ones he gave everyone else except Enjolras beat her to it. He’d slipped off his stool and crossed the kitchen tile in a few long strides, reaching for Grantaire and gathering his face in his hands. Enjolras pressed a soft kiss to his lips before pulling him into a fierce embrace. He whispered something into Grantaire’s ear and R nodded. Katherine turned away, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment.

She met Courfeyrac’s gaze and he looked down at his phone meaningfully before typing something and passing it to her. She read the note explaining that sometimes this happened, that they could handle it and while he was sorry Katherine had to witness it, she shouldn’t be overly concerned carefully before nodding her understanding and passing Courf his phone back. He quirked one side of his mouth up in a tight-lipped smile.

“So,” Grantaire started roughly, still hugging Enjolras, “what’s this about a present?”

Enjolras released him but immediately grabbed Grantaire’s hand and began leading him back to the steps. Katherine and Courf followed a few steps behind. They all stopped in front of the door to the new studio. It had indeed been covered in scraps of leftover Christmas wrapping paper and a big bow made out of tinsel. Grantaire shot them a questioning look and Enj nodded reassuringly. With a deep breath R grabbed the handle and swung the door open and froze.

Katherine’s heart stopped in fear. What if it was all wrong? What if he hated it? What if he got upset that they’d gone against what he explicitly asked?

A couple times now Kath had overstepped with her friends, inadvertently offending or, in a memorable case with Jack, hurting. She had bought them something they’d said they wanted or needed but couldn’t afford and while she thought it was a kindness, some good she could do with her family’s absurd wealth, they hadn’t always felt the same way. Jack’s voice shouting “I’m not your fucking charity case, _Pulitzer_ ” echoed briefly in her ears.

She’d gotten better about it though and her friends more lenient in allowing her to foot the bill for things like meals and movie tickets. Still, they weren’t Grantaire and she’d never been involved in anything like this with R before.

“Wow,” he whispered, finally stepping into the new studio. “You guys did all this today? For _me_?”

“Well yes. You don’t really have your own space here anyway, you share mine, and while I really don’t mind I’d thought you like one. And then this way you don’t have to fight for studio time or worry about being late or just trek all the way to campus,” Enjolras said.

“You know that paint smells?” R challenged.

“The window opens,” Enjolras countered.

Grantaire smirked. “Touché.”

“So… You like it?” Courfeyrac obviously couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.

“I _love_ it.” Grantaire grinned.

“It’s not perfect, you’ll have to move stuff to how you want it but we can help,” Enjolras shrugged.

“Not perfect?” R laughed. “It’s pretty damn close!”

“We called Jack,” Katherine admitted. “He told us like everything. What to buy and where you might want it. He, uh, says that you’re a lucky little shit and that you should convince me to come and help him set up his studio whenever he gets a bigger apartment.”

Grantaire snorted. “The guy just got himself a free pizza. But honestly guys, this is amazing. Thank you.”

He grabbed Enjolras around the waist first, dragging him over to Katherine and motioning for Courf to join the group hug with his head, which Courfeyrac happily obliged. Katherine laughed from where she’d been squished between the boys. Not exactly how she expected to spend the first day of break but a definite improvement to sitting at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- When Kath mentions "Pret" she's talking about Pret a Manger  
> \- Enj is an aggressive driver. He's not really that bad but it's very different from the reckless driver that Racetrack is and the actual good driver Specs is. Really, she's ridden in worse cabs but it's different when you know the person  
> \- The three of them all have very rich families. It's canon.  
> \- The Lumineer song I was thinking of was [Big Parade](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YviR4Knw7I) which I can't explain but just has HUGE Newsie and Les Amis vibes  
> \- Ri Ra is my fave restaurant in Georgetown and Baked and Wired is hands down the best cupcakes period.  
> \- R is def ordering a pizza to be anonymously delivered to Jack at some point in the near future


	3. Chapter 3

Katherine silently cursed herself for inadvertently training her body to run on four hours of sleep. It was certainly helpful the first half of the semester as she frantically wrote article after article between the school paper and her three journalism courses in addition to re-reading her bio textbook just about every night and still not quite understanding any of the words beside “a, the, and” but she needed the stupid course to graduate next year so long hours it was.

Right now though, it was seven am and she’d been staring up at the white ceiling of the overlarge guest room the boys had insisted she use for the past hour and a half hoping to drift off again. It was a Sunday and spring break on top of everything else, so she had been hoping to pay back that overlarge sleep debt she owed. Apparently, her body decided to extend her loan. Great.

Just giving up on it, Kath finally flipped the covers off and swung herself out of bed. The wood floor was chilly and uneven under her bare feet but Katherine didn’t mind; it reminded her of the edges of the hallways at home and being a little kid and playing spy with her siblings as they stayed far away from the carpet runners, tip-toeing along the wood as they crept along the walls of the brownstone.

The house was silent as she padded past the stairs leading up to the attic that were permanently pulled down in the middle of the third-floor landing. She could hear soft snores drifting down and Katherine smiled slightly at it.

She made her way downstairs, fingers trailing along the curving banister as she walked past Gavroche’s empty room, R’s new studio, the bathroom, and eventually Courf’s closed door. It was covered in papers and pictures. Katherine paused, listening to make sure that the boys were still asleep before stepping closer to see them better. For the most part they were shitty custom memes of inside jokes from the ABC and post it notes with various handwritings scribbling out of context quotes that had been tapped down to keep them from possibly falling loose. Kath chuckled at a couple of them before her eyes came to rest on the picture that was at the center, just about eye-level for Courfeyrac.

It showed a familiar trio with their arms slung around each other and all grinning broadly for the camera. It was funny seeing little Courf sandwiched between the tall Enjolras and Combeferre. They were all younger here, Enjolras’s hair in a braid that fell over his shoulder and Ferre had on a pair of glasses with thin wire frames that were a couple years out of date by now if they had ever been trendy to begin with. Courf was wearing a t-shirt that made a “What Does the Fox Say?” reference and if the legendary long hair that Kath hadn’t gotten the chance to see and the old glasses weren’t enough of an indicator that Katherine was staring at a baby Triumvirate then the cutoff print of “RING-DING-DING-” would’ve sold it. Courfeyrac did not wear outdated references, that’s just not him.

Katherine squinted at the handwriting that had been squeezed into the upper right corner. “Enjolras, Courfeyrac, and Combeferre – Freshman advising, June 2016.” Looking back at the picture Kath noted that Courf had lost the baby fat in his cheeks, Ferre had started getting his hair cut with a fade on the sides, and Enj had stopped wearing a retainer.

Stepping back with a smile Katherine decided to continue her trek down to where she’d left her laptop in the living room.

Grabbing it off the table from where laid on a haphazard pile of papers next to Enj’s and Courf’s, Katherine settled on the fluffy rug and balanced it on her knees before moving it to the floor so she could dig her phone out of the pocket of her flannel pajama pants. She pulled up youtube and set out to catch up on her backlog of _SNL_.

She was clutching at her sides laughing as she re-watched John Mulaney and Pete Davidson talk about _The Mule_ for close to the dozenth time when Enjolras wandered past. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him walking back to peer in at her. She turned her head to meet his gaze and laughed harder. At some point after she’d gone to bed someone had tried to pull Enjolras’s hair up into two tiny buns on the top of his head. The result had been less than perfect Katherine guessed and coupled with sleep it was _quite_ the look. He just blinked at her before continuing down the hall.

Katherine couldn’t see him over the back of the couch, but she could hear him moving around in the kitchen. Eventually he walked in, mug in each hand. He passed her the one that had the Newseum’s logo on it. Katherine thanked him and smirked at the print on its other side. “Trust me… I’m a reporter.”

He lifted his own in a cheers and tried to hide his growing smile but she could see the amusement in his eyes as he settled on the floor across from her. She finally got a better look at his own mug and giggled again. Like hers it was all black with text, but it was red rather than white. It also read “Keep Calm and Start a Revolution. Boston, Massachusetts.”

Katherine handed him her coffee back, temporarily, and scooted herself so that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder with their backs against the couch. Katherine pulled her laptop over and restarted the clip before taking back her much-needed caffeine. Barely a minute in and Enj was already laughing, she could feel him shaking where they had leaned against each other.

~

Eventually Grantaire wandered down the steps and the hall towards the kitchen. By that point Katherine and Enjolras were both on their second cups of coffee and much closer to themselves in addition to having wound up just watching John Mulaney on Netflix.

There was the distinct sounds of cooking drifting from the kitchen along with the telltale scent. Katherine heard Grantaire walk up beside her and looked up to see him standing in front of them with a plate. He held it down, wafted the scent of a fresh and delicious looking omelet. He smirked and began to walk backwards towards the kitchen again, pretending to lure them into following with the omelet.

Katherine laughed and paused the video, pushing herself to her feet. Enjolras was still mostly nonverbal with drowsiness but she could hear slight grumbles as he did the same.

R had set the plate down in Enjolras’s spot and looked up from where he was whisking eggs. Enjolras leaned across the island to give Grantaire a quick kiss before settling down to eat. Grantaire just stared at him with a goofy grin and Katherine smiled. They reminded her a lot of Spot and Racetrack sometimes; madly in love yet purposefully antagonistic and so sickeningly sweet. She suddenly realized why R liked _Much Ado About Nothing_ so much, Beatrice and Benedict’s relationship was practically his and Enjolras’s.

Grantaire shifted his attention back to her, the grin dimming only slightly now that he wasn’t staring dopily at his boyfriend. “Mademoiselle?” R lifted an eyebrow at her expectantly. “What do you like in your omelets. We have literally everything and the kitchen sink.”

Kath rolled her eyes and just knew that beside her Enjolras was doing the same. R’s smile just took on a wicked glint.

“How about cheese and peppers and spinach?” Kath asked, trying to remember what she’d seen her mom throw in a thousand times when she was little and her mother used to make them for everyone on Saturday mornings. “And ham. Can’t forget the ham.”

Grantaire didn’t say anything about the combination, just set about mixing it all into the eggs. Enj finished his coffee and got up to make a third cup, R intercepted him before he could get to the Keurig though. Nothing was ever said but there was a lot of intense staring, some eyebrow moving, and in the end a very smug R as Enjolras slouched and carried his mug over to the fridge instead and filled it up with milk.

“You know, with Combeferre not here I didn’t think I’d have to deal with someone monitoring my caffeine intake,” Enj muttered as he reclaimed his seat.

Katherine snorted. Maybe she shouldn’t have because she’d had nearly the exact same conversations – or maybe they should be classified as arguments? There was never any yelling, but they were definitely a step above a conversation – with Sarah and David about her own caffeine addiction. As roommates their freshmen year Sarah had been _horrified_ to discover exactly how much coffee Kath consumed in a day. A fact she decided to share with her twin and the two took it upon themselves to gang up on her and stage an intervention. The first of many. In Katherine’s defense, she was now more _conscious_ of how much coffee she drank in a day. Even if she hadn’t significantly lowered that amount.

Enjolras and Grantaire continued to bicker – banter? or both? – when Kath’s phone beeped, the four quick tones of the Kimmunicator because Kath loved that show and was incredibly conscious of the irony. She had gotten a text from Specs asking if she’d seen the night before’s Weekend Update and excitedly responded that she had just watched it earlier that morning. This launched a short conversation on the glories of John Mulaney hosting and whether Bodega Bathroom would become a bigger meme in with the friends than Diner Lobster had. Kath was convinced it would because, well, they were New Yorkers.

She had been so wrapped up in texting with Specs that she completely missed that Grantaire and Enjolras had fallen silent until Courf walked in, saying “Is everything ok?”

“Kath. Your phone. It makes the _Kim Possible_ noise,” Grantaire said in shocked delight.

“Yeah?” Katherine blinked, unsure where R might be going with this.

“That’s _fantastic_!” Grantaire’s grin took on an almost manic energy and Katherine couldn’t help but snort.

Courfeyrac rounded on her with wide eyes. “You’re _kidding_.”

“Nope?”

“She’s not. I heard it too,” Enj corroborated. He looked positively thrilled by this.

Katherine blinked between the three boys, hadn’t they heard it before? But no, she’d kept her phone on silent all last semester and had only started actually having the sound on at all over break when she discovered it drove her father mad. She had gotten into the habit of turning it off walking into class and back on walking out but since she wasn’t going to be in class for the next week, she hadn’t thought about it.

“It’s just something I downloaded?” Katherine tried to explain.

“Wait, are you saying that _I_ could get the Kimmunicator tone too?” Courfeyrac seemed way too excited by this fact, especially for being before noon on a Sunday.

Kath nodded slowly, reaching to take another sip of her coffee. In her defense she needed it to deal with that much excitement turned on her so suddenly.

Courf thrust his phone out at her and then Enj did the same. Both looked at her so expectantly that it took Katherine a second to recover before she was able to say anything. “Um, you have to buy it?”

“So worth it,” Courfeyrac said with far more feeling than Katherine knew what to do with.

“Ok then.” She took both phones and navigated through to the app store before having them buy the tone and then setting it as their text tones. “R? You want it too?”

Grantaire had finished with the last of the omelets, already knowing what Courfeyrac would want and having made it by this point. “Nope. I’m good. Thanks though.”

Katherine nodded and then watched, well more like heard, as Enjolras and Courfeyrac texted back and forth, phones beeping cheerily. She shook her head and dug into her eggs.

“This does give me an idea,” R started as he set the pan in the sink. “I set the DVR last night and was going to save it as a surprise for Eponine, but this feels appropriate and I’m sure she’s already seen it and just hasn’t said anything.”

Enjolras shot him a weird look. “What’re you talking about?”

“The new movie. I mean, weather is supposed to be gross this afternoon anyway we could just marathon and then watch it or in case it sucks watch it and then marathon,” Grantaire suggested, thought Kath noticed that he carefully avoided saying what exactly he was talking about.

She narrowed her eyes at him, pursing her lips slightly in her suspicion.

“I’m lost,” Courf said from around a mouthful of omelet.

“You’re in the kitchen!” Grantaire told him cheerfully. “I can be a little broader if you want: on the east coast of North America. Though I _can_ start narrowing it down for you. Let’s see, the United States, Washington, D.C., Georgetown-”

“Alright!” Enj interrupted. Katherine was glad he did, because if Grantaire made her laugh any harder there would be coffee coming out her nose. “I think,” Enjolras tried to continue.

“Oh, that’s good to hear,” R chimed in and received a glare to which he responded with a cheeky grin.

“I _think_ ,” Enjolras tried again, “that we’re all wondering what exactly you’re suggesting we spend the afternoon watching.”

“Well _Kim Possible_ of course!” Grantaire acted as though it was obvious and Enj let out an exasperated sigh.

Katherine registered exactly what he said, “Wait. That came out already?!”

“Ohmygod I can’t believe I’d forgotten about it!” Courf sounded genuinely distressed and without thinking Kath moved to give him a hug. They stayed like that, clasping each other as the news hit them.

Grantaire was trying, but not too hard, not to laugh at them as he nodded. “Yeah, I googled on a whim and saw they were showing it again last night so I had set it to record a couple days ago.”

“That’s it, that’s how we’re spending our afternoon,” Enjolras left no room for argument. Not that he would get one anyway, they’d all made up their minds the minute R said “ _Kim Possible_.”

~

They watched the movie first, fear it would disappoint meant that they could let the original series make up for it. Thankfully it lived up to their hype, honoring the show, referencing and nodding at it the whole time, as well as making it new and accessible for another generation. They were all pleasantly surprised to say the least.

When they took a break for dinner Kath’s phone went off, this time playing the Bastille song that marked that Jack was calling. She sat on the steps as they chatted; turned out that the snow meant that Medda had to cancel their camping trip and instead they were going to see _King Kong_ and he was more than a little excited by this change. She told him all about the new _Kim Possible_ movie and somehow his excitement only doubled.

_“That’s honestly the greatest thing I’ve heard all day and I already told you my other news.”_

Kath rolled her eyes as she laughed. “They said they’re showing it again on the eleventh.”

_“Yooooo! Movie night! Crutchie will definitely agree to let us host. We have cable now, I think we get the Disney Channel, he loves KP. So there. It’s happening. I am putting it in the groupchat as soon as we hang up.”_

“Which one?” she teased.

_“All of them,”_ Jack answered immediately.

Katherine just shook her head at her lovable goof of a boyfriend. “I’ll believe it when I see it, Kelly.”

_“Is that a challenge, Plumber?”_

“Maybe.”

_“Well then, I’m hanging up to get down to business.”_

“To defeat the Huns?”

_“Nah, I don’t qualify as a Disney Princess. You on the other hand…”_

Katherine scoffed. “Uh, ok. You flatter me Jack but that’s false. You’re not going to argue with me though cause you have a point to prove,” she said smugly.

She could practically feel Jack glaring at her through the phone and thank the universe that they weren’t on Facetime. _“You are. That’s final. Now I love you Katherine. Have fun and tell ‘em all hi from me.”_

“Will do. I love you too Jack. Have fun in the snow tomorrow, and be careful.”

_“Always am. Love you.”_

Katherine couldn’t stop herself from smiling and she didn’t really want to. Jack tended to have that effect on her. “Love you.”

The call ended and Katherine was left staring out the little windows of the front door. The weather had indeed turned gross, but her day had been warm and Katherine wouldn’t have traded this lazy Sunday for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I write about pictures a lot? In fics and original work both. Idk why but it's a pattern.  
> \- SNL has been GOLD lately and I HIGHLY recommend watching the segment referenced which you can find [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5TEsdb918c) and from last night's show [Bodega Bathroom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgBxxEL-3TI&index=5&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hLytZGonUNwoF5JHOxK4l6W) and [What's That Name?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rImxuuD_kwM&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hLytZGonUNwoF5JHOxK4l6W&index=18)  
> \- The coffee mugs are real, I own the one Kath uses and a friend very smugly had me use Enj's last summer. Apparently I give off a certain vibe to people.   
> \- The live action Kim Possible movie is exactly as happy making as described and indeed being shown again March 11 on Disney Channel. If you grew up on the original you're going to enjoy it.  
> \- The Bastille song Kath has set for Jack's ringtone is [Good Grief](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATT4AnHt7i8) and yes it's a tad angsty but I think it can also be thought of as really sweet? Idk I can't explain it but I think it fits them.  
> \- Kath being called a Disney Princess and her response is inspired by [this Broadway Princess Party video and Kara Lindsay.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH5Gkw6Hwcc)


	4. Chapter 4

The whole point of spring break was taking a break and taking things easy. So, Katherine pulled on a pair of leggings and the slightly-too-big long sleeve t-shirt that had been a freebie from some volunteer thing at school after her shower. She’d gotten used to wandering around the House barefoot after yesterday, and it was a habit she did normally besides, so she didn’t bother with socks or shoes. She didn’t bother with doing more than wringing out her hair either and let her damp curls fall down her back.

The sound from two floors below notified her that the boys were up and moving. And possibly breaking dishes. She began to rethink the whole barefoot thing. Too late though, she was already heading down the stairs and her stomach was rumbling from the late start.

“Oh perfect! You’re already dressed for it! Though you may want to tie your hair back,” Courfeyrac said cryptically as she walked into the kitchen.

The backdoor swung open and Grantaire came in carrying a snow shovel. “Remind me again why we put it in the shed after shoveling out?”

“Because we hadn’t decided whether we were really going or not until we got bagels,” Enjolras explained. Though to Katherine nothing any of them said thus far had made any sense. “Speaking of, Kath there’s bagels.”

“Uh, thanks?” She eyed the boys suspiciously and her confusion only grew.

Enjolras was wearing a pair of track pants, she hadn’t ever seen him in anything less casual than jeans unless you counted pajamas, and the most Enjolras t-shirt she had ever seen. It was red and said, “I don’t need sex the government fucks me every day.” Courf also sported a t-shirt though his was plain and _very_ purple and a pair of joggers. Grantaire had his “Men make a lot of bad art” shirt and basketball shorts and snow boots. For Grantaire it was mostly just the snow boots that were a surprise.

Kath decided that she was obviously just not firing on all cylinders and required her morning caffeine intake. Yep, a cup of coffee and this would all make sense. Definitely.

So, Katherine made herself coffee and sat at the island to eat her bagel and hold her tongue about the quality. She scrolled aimlessly through headlines and held her tongue at those too. Around her the boys were a flurry of activity, running up and down the stairs, carrying big bags in and slinging a makeshift strap on the snow shovel.

“Ferre said she could use his, right?” Courf called down the steps.

“Yeah! I have an extra sabre but she might want his mask!” R yelled back.

“I’ll just grab the whole bag in case,” Courfeyrac said. Grantaire shrugged and went back to the growing pile of bags and shovel. Katherine continued to watch with interest.

“What all are you taking?” Enjolras appeared from the basement, a six pack of Gatorade in hand.

“I was just going to take everything, that way we’ve got options.” Grantaire said, turning from surveying the pile.

“You sure you want to carry all that?”

Grantaire shrugged. “Like I don’t normally?”

“True,” Enj conceded.

Katherine raised her hand slowly, half afraid to interrupt and half afraid to startle them as she was genuinely convinced they’d forgotten about her. “Question- what are you doing?”

The boys turned on her and Katherine felt a flare of amusement at the surprise in their eyes. They had forgotten she was still sitting there.

“We’re going to teach you how to fence,” Enjolras answered automatically.

“Or swordfight. I’ve got stage combat under my belt and the weapons for that too,” Grantaire added.

Nodding, Kath felt herself begin to smile. “Cool, cool. That sounds awesome. Where? And what’s with the shovel?”

“The Mall. And it’s in case the slush and all haven’t melted yet; though it should by the time we get there,” Enjolras explained.

“Sweet,” Katherine was grinning madly. Swords? Yes please! Her life thus far had a distressing lack of swords, much less than she had expected growing up. And Kath remembered comparing non-sports athletic extracurriculars with Enjolras. Apparently rich kids didn’t play soccer or football, no she and Enj took tap classes and fencing. They did thoroughly enjoy it, but some days Katherine wondered what it would’ve been like to be a cheerleader and she knew Enjolras secretly wished he had done at least one team sport in high school.

“You might want to wear snow boots but grab a pair of sneakers too, and bring your coat and a sweatshirt,” Grantaire advised.

Katherine nodded and nearly ran into Courfeyrac in the hall. He laughed as they barely avoided collision and called to Grantaire, “And are you really going to wear shorts and boots all day?”

Grantaire’s voice floated to her as she took the stairs two at a time. “No, I have sneakers in my bag. I take my own advice!”

~

It wasn’t until Katherine was sitting on the blue line next to Enj, bags at their feet, that the thought struck her. “Isn’t it illegal to take weaponry onto the National Mall?”

“It’s not weaponry, it’s sporting equipment,” Enjolras answered quickly. It was practiced, prepared.

“Even R’s stage combat stuff?”

“Yes. Besides, we do this all the time. The Park Rangers all know us by now and have come to the conclusion that we’re not a threat.”

Katherine tried to form a sentence a couple times, staring at Enjolras’s profile in shock. His hair had been successfully pulled into pigtails and the fluffy blond puff created quite the dissonance to his sharp jaw. He looked over at her in concern and Kath finally found her ability to speak English again. “That. Is _beyond_ concerning. Also, I have _so_ many questions.”

Enjolras just smirked.

~

As they walked along the Mall, searching for a suitably melted and dry area of grass, Courfeyrac chattered about how they all found out about the weird overlap in hobby. Enjolras’s start in fencing Kath knew, it was wrapped up in stories about etiquette and cotillion classes and stiff dinners and stolen champagne sips shared over typing up memos and spell-checking emails.

On his father’s side Courf was old money. His mom less so. Her parents were both immigrants, one from Ireland and one from Brazil, and she’d found a weird niche in fencing growing up, using it to propel her to scholarships and beyond as she won competition after competition. That’s where she met Courf’s dad, for whom fencing was an expected family tradition. They immediately hit it off, fell in love, got married, and had Courf and his brood of brothers. As such it was just a given that they would all fence too, and so they did. Unlike the rest of his family, Courf wasn’t really in it for the competition. Though Enjolras had interjected to say that didn’t mean Courf couldn’t whoop anyone’s ass if he wanted to.

Grantaire was technically trained in stage combat because his sister had wanted to go to theater camp growing up and as the little brother that meant Grantaire went to theater camp too. He hadn’t really been a fan of acting or directing or tech. Stage fighting and dance though? He’d kept up with them and still took a half credit of each every semester. As well as picking up swing dancing and boxing. The fencing aspect was new, something he began when their friends suggested he and Enjolras find another way to take their frustrations with each other out before they had started dating. R had suggested boxing, Enjolras countered with dueling which was admittedly a sarcastic suggestion until Grantaire had shown up at the next ABC meeting with a sword and a lightbulb went off. Enjolras had offered to teach him and that’s what made them eventually get over their own bullheadedness enough to talk and eventually admit their feelings for each other. Katherine thought the whole thing was adorable. And explained certain signs about swords that hung around the Musain.

Katherine’s favorite was Combeferre’s, as told by Courfeyrac. Apparently Combeferre had fallen deeply in love with the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies as a kid and desperately wanted to be a pirate. Supposedly, his cousins were simultaneously going through a _Peter Pan_ phase and delighted in the fact that he was always willing to play Captain Hook. After a particularly vicious wooden sword fight one of said cousins wound up with a loose tooth knocked out and everyone came to the conclusion that maybe some professional guidance in swordplay would be beneficial. Research was undertaken, calls were made, and Combeferre was signed up for fencing.

The Triumvirate famously met at Georgetown’s accepted students day where they were all equally outraged by the lack of activism done by the College Democrats and found kindred spirits. To their shock and surprise this extended to weird hobbies. Or at least fencing. Courf assured her that they each had their own uniquely weird hobby and that beyond politics and fencing the overlap mostly ended. Kath just raised an eyebrow at that but she couldn’t verify her suspicions as she didn’t know Courfeyrac and Combeferre as well as she knew Enjolras. Or at least not yet.

~

A suitable patch of grass was finally located and their bags were dropped. The trio set to work asking Katherine questions about her comfort level and what exactly she might want to learn.

They started small, grip and commands and a basic parry. Eventually they talked her into putting on Ferre’s borrowed mask and jacket and letting Courfeyrac dance around her. She laughed as he landed hit after hit and she pitifully tried to deflect. Eventually they took it a little slower and paired her up with Enjolras. He was a bit more vicious than Courf but much more patient and concerned with teaching her rather than just getting her to laugh.

Katherine finally called it, her fly away curls sticking to her cheeks with sweat from under the mask. She sat next to R and watched as Courfeyrac and Enjolras fenced, cheering loudly and attracting the attention of tourists. She finished her drink and felt recharged by the time Courf won.

Grantaire handed her a dagger from his bag. “You like Annabeth so much, wanna learn to fight like her?”

“Is that really a question?” Kath felt giddy at the prospect.

Grantaire was careful and they moved slowly, without gear to protect them this time. Eventually they choreographed a careful dance between her with the dagger and him with a sword. Their blades flashed as they spun around each other in the late afternoon sun. Each hit rang through the air and Katherine could feel her limbs ache from use. It was a good ache though. They ended with Katherine holding the dagger to R’s neck, just as they had practiced, and she let out a loud whoop. Enj and Courfeyrac clapped for them, as did the small crowd that had formed.

As the sun went down, they decided to pack up and go find food. After some discussion of how far they were really willing to walk with everything now that they were tired they decided to just metro the couple stops to Capitol South and the diner there.

Katherine collapsed into the wooden booth, accepting the glass of water with glee. She was exhausted but it was some of the most fun she had in ages. “Tomorrow,” Kath said before taking another gulp of water, “I teach you to tap.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS. Do not under any circumstances take ANYTHING resembling a weapon onto the National Mall. It is HIGHLY illegal. You can, and I encourage you, take frisbees, soccer/kick/footballs, dogs, picnics to the National Mall and play on the green. Just for the love of all things good and holy don't take swords. That's like one of the most fanfictiony things I've ever written.   
> \- I noticed I keep alternating between Kath backstory and the boys and it's not intentional and idk how I feel about it. So it's subject to change.  
> \- Originally this had a whole long bit about Kath going to get a shower and analyzing the bathroom and the boys' hosting and was supposed to be some convoluted character insight thing but then I didn't feel like writing it! lol. If you WANT a detailed description of the third floor bathroom of the Triumvirate House and exactly how clean Enj, R, and Ferre keep it I can tell you though.   
> \- As per usual the shirts exist and you can find them on the internet to purchase. (I personally want Enj's very badly and have used it before in other things because it is my absolute FAVORITE.)   
> \- The one diner a block up from the Capitol South stop has the best French Toast and that is definitely what they all ended up eating for dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am BEHIND on this fic and not thrilled with this chapter but there's a lot of elements I like so it's going up now.

“Uh Kath?” Grantaire started as they stood shoulder to shoulder doing dishes; something that they all protested Kath didn’t need to help with seeing as how she was their guest, but they’d underestimated her will.

She took the pan he passed her and began drying it. “What’s up?”

“You mentioned yesterday that you’d teach us tap?”

“And I will! I think it’ll be fun. Plus, I don’t foresee you guys using it for nefarious purposes.”

Grantaire snorted as he laughed. “What kind of ‘nefarious purposes’ can tap dancing be used for?” There was a challenging glint in his eye that said he doubted she would be able to come up with a suitable answer.

Luckily Katherine didn’t need to fabricate one, her friends really were just that ridiculous. “Like nearly getting us banned from the one diner we can all agree on by trying to tap dance on the tables because they’d seen _RENT_ one too many times.”

Grantaire paused in his dish washing, setting the bowl back into the soapy water and clutching at the sink he was laughing that hard. “Let me guess, Racetrack?”

“He wasn’t the only culprit,” Kath muttered darkly. Mr. Jacobi put up with a lot from them but showing up during the breakfast rush freaking out about their success thus far in the fight against her dad? Well it was admittedly not one of their finer moments. Deciding that yes, it was a good idea to dance on the tables and for Kath to show off when the boys were just purposefully egging her on with steps she had been teaching them? Well she’ll be the first to admit that they had deserved to be kicked out.

There were soapy handprints on Grantaire’s shirt from where he was clutching at his sides from laughing. Katherine just shrugged and turned to try and find which cabinet the pan belonged in.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “It’s just- heh. I can picture it _so clearly_ and it’s _fantastic_.”

Katherine finally located the correct cabinet, it was on the other side of R, and she allowed herself a short laugh at the memory. “Smalls got the security camera footage somewhere.”

“Really?!” Grantaire was wild-eyed with excitement at the prospect, his messy black curls still sticking every which way from sleep making the image even more amusing. Unthinkingly, she reached out a hand to try and tug one down into tameness. R tracked the movement with his eyes and grinned wider knowing Katherine was unsuccessful.

Kath felt her lip tug up in frustration and moved back around Grantaire to keep drying. “Yeah, I’ll text her and see if she can email me a copy.”

“ _Sweet_.” Grantaire looked genuinely thrilled by the prospect. “Which, uh, brings me back to my original point.” Kath quirked an eyebrow and waited for him to finish. “I’ve really gotta work on my portfolio stuff today so is there any way we can postpone the whole tap thing?”

“Of course! R, you’re stuck with me until Sunday. It’s only Tuesday.”

“Ok! Ok,” Grantaire chuckled and went back to bowl he had been scrubbing. Katherine bumped her hip against his, smiling as he quirked his lips and responded in kind.

~

Kath was just lacing up her docs when Courfeyrac rushed into the living room. “We’re so behind!” he said, waving around a piece of notebook paper.

“Well I think we can officially cross Milk Bar off the list,” Enjolras said dryly. He was tugging on his boots that Kath had grown so used to seeing the previous semester. She stretched her foot out and nudged his lightly, resulting in him nudging back and then they were half kicking each other like a pair of toddlers as they sat on the floor, supposed to be getting ready to head out for the day.

Courf ignored the antics on the rug and walked over to the table, rummaging around in the mess before pulling out a pen victoriously and presumably scratching out Milk Bar from the paper. “Ok, that still leaves us behind.”

“Behind on what?” Kath jerked her legs in so that she was sitting cross-legged and Enjolras was unable to kick at her feet. She stuck her tongue out at him quickly to which he responded by flipping her off.

“Are you two done?” Courf asked with mock patience. Katherine blinked at him innocently and out of the corner of her eye could see Enjolras was doing the same. Courfeyrac rolled his eyes as he sighed, heading back to the hall to grab his coat. “Our ice cream list of course.”

“Oh yes, of course, that,” Enj said sarcastically, pushing himself to his feet.

Katherine smirked and held out a hand for him to pull her up. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

Courfeyrac finished buttoning up his peacoat before turning to survey Katherine and Enjolras as they stood in the doorway. “I hate that there’s two of you,” he said finally before turning and marching out the front door.

Katherine immediately burst out laughing, Enjolras doing the same. She shrugged on her own coat and slung her bag over her shoulder. “We’re not that similar,” she said.

“Nor are we that bad,” Enjolras agreed. “Grantaire! We’re heading out!” he called up the stairs. The sound of Brittany Spears just increased so Enj shrugged and turned towards the door. “He heard us.”

Katherine just shook her head as she followed.

~

They had reached M Street when Courf made them stop, actually holding his hands out in front of him to tell them to do so. Katherine pressed her mouth into a tight line to try and keep from laughing.

“Ok,” Courfeyrac was saying, “we have to make our choice, we can either take the bus into Rosslyn and just hop on the metro there to Federal Triangle, _or_ we walk into Foggy Bottom and go to the green tea ice cream place that’s like on GW’s campus and then take the metro from Foggy Bottom. Or bus to Foggy Bottom if you’d rather.”

Enjolras turned to Katherine expectantly, prompting Courfeyrac to do the same. “So it’s my choice?” she asked wryly.

“Well I have no preference and you are the guest.” Enjolras’s lips quirked into a smirk and Kath couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Let’s get ice cream and call it a lunch,” Kath acted exasperated but knew that the boys could tell otherwise. “But it’s not that nice of a day to walk all the way there, we’re taking the bus.”

“Then let’s go!” Courf said cheerily, crossing the street so they would be at the right stop.

“You’re an enabler,” Enj informed her as they followed Courfeyrac.

“Oh really?”

“Yes,” Enjolras was smiling though and Katherine knew he couldn’t back up his argument without incriminating himself, a fact he knew too, so she just shoved her shoulder into him and was rewarded with a laugh.

~

The green tea ice cream that Courf had convinced them to get was admittedly really good. Although, Enjolras was fairly smug by the time they reached the Farragut West station. Since they had to head downtown anyway and needed to eat their ice cream Courfeyrac had convinced them to just walk to that station rather than back towards Foggy Bottom or getting a bus. Enjolras argued that they were going to end up cold with the wind wiping between the buildings. Enjolras had been right. Kath had regretted the ice cream before she was halfway through, she had gotten that cold.

She shoved her hands into her coat pockets as they waited for the train, bouncing on the balls of her feet to try and get warm. Kath _had_ finished the ice cream, it was too good not to, but she was just very cold now.

“Don’t,” Courfeyrac warned, shivering himself.

Enjolras just raised his eyebrows innocently. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“But you were thinking it,” Courf argued.

Enjolras just shrugged and Katherine rolled her eyes at the boys as the train pulled into the station. It was fairly empty, early afternoon on a Tuesday, and they spread out across the car.

“If I remember correctly,” Enj said as the train began to move, “I never said anything about walking or ice cream.”

“You called me an enabler,” Katherine accused.

“Which you are,” Enjolras shot back. Courf just pouted.

“Well you keep saying I’m a guest so it’s not like you can be too mad about my choices.” Kath sniffed, taking on an air as she stuck her nose in the air in mock arrogance.

“You are our guest,” Enjolras said quickly, leaning forward from across the car, “and we’re going to American History this afternoon because _you_ wanted to see the new exhibit.”

Katherine gasped in mock outrage. Enjolras had a smirk playing at the edges of his lips and she knew this was all in jest, but she couldn’t help but tease back. It was either this or complain about the day’s headlines and they were both determined not to talk about those on threat of death – there was a bet going around about how long they could last and supposedly Courf had a lot of money riding on them making it until Wednesday. Racetrack’s money was on today and while they didn’t want Courfeyrac to win they really wanted Race to lose.

“An exhibit which _you_ told me about,” Kath said primly.

They mirrored each other’s posture, sitting with their arms crossed and chins jutting out narrowing their eyes as they stared down their noses at the other. The seconds dragged on as the train pulled into the next stop and neither moved. Suddenly their phones chirped, twin beeps and they both moved to grab them.

A text to the mass groupchat: a hot mess of ABC and Newsies and a grab bag of some of the Nicest Kids in Town and Children of Liberty that was supposed to be used for official business only but rarely was. Kath noted that it was from Courfeyrac and glance over at him as her phone unlocked and the app loaded. She frowned down at her phone before returning to looking at Courf, this time with a glare. He just shrugged as Enjolras did the same and Courfeyrac raised his phone to snap another photo that was then sent to the group too.

Katherine watched as the reactions rolled in, first to the one of her and Enj having a stare down from across the train which Courf had called “Unstoppable Force meet Immovable Object. Your guess on who’s who.” Followed by the one of them both turning their glares on Courf and in turn the camera which had been titled “#spotted #batglare #helpme” and had gotten a ton of laughs already.

**Cowboy Kelly: -…this looks like a renaissance painting…**

Katherine started cracking up as Jack’s message came through and looked up to see Enj smirking.

“He’s not wrong,” Enjolras observed and Katherine looked at the first picture again.

They were both perfectly framed by the windows of the train and sat in nearly identical positions, only Kath’s legs were crossed, and her doc stuck out into the no man’s land between them. The fluorescents glinted off their curls, turning Enjolras’s blonde to white at the edges and her own red to a fuzzy copper. Their faces were pale compared to their dark coats and the deep blue of the train’s seats and floor but the silver and white of the walls just made them stand out that much more in the empty train.

The next photo was just amusing and made Katherine realize just how terrifying she could be. Enjolras she knew could scare with a look, she’d seen it, but seeing her own glare next to his she was surprised that she didn’t pale in comparison.

More texts had come in, branching off the painting comment.

**Holly Jolllly: -Might I suggest an alliteration for a title?  
-An Argument Between Archangels**

**Checkpoint Charlie: -OOOOOOH. NO. IVE GOT IT.  
-A SILENT WAR**

**Seeing Eye Specs: -Nah, you’re not taking the subject matter into account.**

**Bald Eagle: -akdhfbasdsfk NOT TAKING THE SUBJECT MATTER INTO ACCOUNT???  
-ITS KATH AND ENJ. THOSE BOTH TOTALLY TAKE THE SUBJECT MATTER INTO ACCOUNT!!!**

**Cowboy Kelly: -specs is right tehy hate being called angels and we all knwo it plus are vocally antiwar**

**Checkpoint Charlie: -Fair point**

**Holly Jolllly: -… I guess.**

**Seeing Eye Specs: -Thank you Jack. Now might I present the true title: Impasse.**

Katherine snorted at their friends. They seemed to have temporarily forgotten that both she and Enjolras were both a part of the chat and could see the whole ridiculous discussion.

“I like “Impasse” personally,” Courf said with a cheeky smile. “And it _is_ my photo so I should be able to name it.”

Enjolras shook his head at his friend. “You’re insufferable.”

“Thank you!” Courf preened as though it were the highest compliment.

Katherine giggled and quickly typed out a message.

**Princess Plumber: -I vote Impasse.  
-Also Jack change my name back.**

**Cowboy Kelly: -i would if i could but i cant so i shant**

Katherine gave an unimpressed look at her phone that she then transferred to Enjolras and Courfeyrac when she heard them snicker.

**Oh Great And Mighty Enjolras: -I too vote for “Impasse”.  
-Also who the hell changed my name? Fix it.**

A flurry of gifs came after that, all of which claimed the innocence of various parties currently in the chat and arguing that all names were currently final. Katherine rolled her eyes before muting the chat temporarily and sticking her phone back in her pocket.

“We can fix them at home,” she assured Enj, who had been looking at his phone with increasing annoyance.

“Besides,” Courfeyrac chimed in as the train slowed, “we’re here.”

~

Katherine pouted when she saw that the pop culture wing _still_ wasn’t open, but she was determined to have a good time anyway. There weren’t huge crowds, an exhibit on women’s history wasn’t exactly a major tourist attractor, but the museum was still fairly busy and they had to wait their turn to be able to step up to the glass and read the little placards.

It was fun spending the afternoon wandering through the exhibits with Courfeyrac and Enjolras. The three of them bounced between criticizing their country, excitedly sharing trivia, and loudly bashing the current administration whenever they saw anyone wearing the cursed red hats.

It was during one of their louder critiques in front of a group of tourists that one of the museums docents overheard them and took notice. Katherine was so sure they would be asked to leave for causing a scene or just generally being loud that she froze when the older lady approached them. The boys did the same and Kath noticed a look of nerves flash across Courfeyrac’s face while Enjolras steeled his expression, putting on his haughty prep school veneer.

“It’s so good to see young people who actually care,” she said with a kind smile and Katherine blinked at her in shock. “I hope you three enjoy your visit and keep learning and paying attention.”

Courfeyrac was the first to recover, giving the woman a winning smile. “Thank you! I can assure you that we fully intend to!”

The woman nodded and returned to her duties, leaving them standing in the middle of the hall in shock. “That was _not_ how I saw that going,” Enjolras admitted as they finally kept walking.

“Same. Hard same,” Katherine nodded.

“So I don’t know about you,” Courfeyrac started and Kath noticed a mischievous glint in his eye, “but I think that we were just encouraged to keep up the heckling.”

“It’s not heckling,” Enjolras said quickly. “It’s political speech.”

“Which _is_ the most protected form of speech under the First Amendment!” Katherine smirked at him in understanding. They boys grinned back excitedly.

By the time they finally left to go home and make dinner Katherine estimated that they pissed off roughly three dozen tourists, had completely confused a pair of harried middle school chaperones, and hopefully made the group of rude and rowdy middle schoolers think a bit more about what they were being taught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Kath has brothers and her own group of boys, she's used to ruffling people's hair and has no qualms about it so yeah, she tugs on the boys curls a lot. It's how she shows her love.  
> \- The ice cream place is Bon Matcha and is super good! If you're ever near George Washington University I suggest walking over to it!  
> \- The groupchat names are totally Crutchie's doing. Jack's spelling mistakes are my own.  
> \- The exhibit really did open on Tuesday and it's about women's work! Especially work women have gone unrecognized for such as housework and features clothes and objects from through out the decades.  
> \- I feel like Kath and Enj have been a little too silly? And I'm going to try and fix that even though I like them just relaxing and goofing off. If you don't like it then blame the bet, they're trying not to talk politics as a result of it.


	6. Chapter 6

“Today’s agenda!” Courfeyrac declared, waving his cereal spoon in the air. Enjolras effortlessly ducked around it as he returned the milk to the fridge, Grantaire was less coordinated and wound up with it under his nose as he side-stepped to let Enj by.

“Why the fuck are you not sitting down? Sit your ass down,” Grantaire grumbled.

Courfeyrac had been wandering around the kitchen, eating his cereal from a mug, and the three boys had coincidentally wound up in the same small area of the kitchen when Courf had decided it was time for his morning dramatics. Kath was safely ensconced on her stool, far away from milky spoons being used to articulate points and sleepy boys caught on the wrong end of said spoons.

“Morning person!” Courf trilled as he set about his pacing once more.

Grantaire tilted his head back to look at the ceiling in a “why me?” gesture that had Katherine stifling her giggles. Enjolras just continued his quest towards coffee, dumping sugar into the mug and stirring the liquid that was less coffee and more sweetened milk at this point. Kath took a sip of her own coffee – dark roast, a singular sugar – in sympathy to what once was.

“So,” Courf started again, now pacing back and forth in front of the stove, “on today’s agenda we- R? Do you have to paint again today?”

Grantaire poked his head out from where he had been bent over rummaging through the bottom drawers of the fridge. “Nope. Not today. Got one more I want done by the end of the week but I can take today off.” He went back to rummaging and emerged victoriously with an apple. “Though we should go shopping soon,” he added as he surveyed the rest of the fridge’s contents.

“Tomorrow,” Courfeyrac waved off. “Ok, so this morning we’re going to the Spy Museum and then getting lunch from that Chinese place that’s like to die for and then the National Portrait Gallery and then tap dancing. Any objections?”

Grantaire had come to sit next to Kath and had just taken a huge bite of his apple at that before raising his hand. “Qwest’chun,” he said as he chewed. Katherine giggled. Enjolras sighed into his coffee.

“Answer,” Courf said but the way his voice lilted up at the end made it sound like a question in itself.

R held up a finger as he frantically tried to chew. “He’s chewing,” Katherine informed Courfeyrac as though it weren’t obvious.

“Yes, thank you,” Courf said with sincerity before turning patient eyes on Grantaire.

They all watched as he managed to swallow the huge bite and Courf and Kath both golf clapped politely. Enjolras repeated Grantiare’s earlier “why me?” gesture.

“Is that the Chinese place with huge portions?”

“Yes,” Courf said.

“Are we taking a backpack with ice packs to store it?” R raised an eyebrow as Courfeyrac tilted his head in thought. “Waste not what not and all that jazz.”

“It would be cost inefficient to not and there’s no point in wasting perfectly good food when there’s people in our very city who are starving,” Enjolras chimed in.

“Plus that sweet and sour sauce is just- mm,” Grantaire hummed, closing his eyes and Kath could only assume he was happily imagining the sweet and sour sauce with that smile.

“The Portrait Gallery does have those lockers… And if we want we could wander over to Ford’s Theater _before_ lunch instead of after…” Courf was muttering. He finally nodded and Katherine could tell a decision had been made. “Yes, we are taking a bag and the icepacks for the leftovers. The Spy Museum has a coat room and Kath you’ve been to Ford’s Theater before?”

“I have,” Katherine nodded, she and Specs had gone together in fall.

“Then that’s all settled!” Courfeyrac beamed.

“And it still means we can put off grocery shopping until tomorrow,” Enjolras mumbled happily over his mug.

~

“Real talk,” Grantaire said as they crossed the street, “ _Skyfall_ has objectively the best theme song of all the movies.”

Courfeyrac gasped. “That is blatant _Live and Let Die_ erasure.”

“Oh really?” Grantaire chuckled, Katherine was suddenly inexplicably nervous as to how this would end. “You really want to say that over played Paul McCartney rubbish holds a candle to Adele and the glory of the chords that play homage to the main theme?”

“Did- did you really just call it rubbish?” Courf’s eyebrows had shot into his hairline. He turned quickly to Katherine and Enjolras. “Did he really just say it was ‘Paul McCartney rubbish’?”

“He did,” Enjolras said solemnly, receiving a scandalized look from his boyfriend.

“Throw me under the bus why don’t ya?” R looked completely affronted.

They had stopped outside the museum and Courfeyrac was completely blocking the door as he threw his arms out and spoke, attracting the stares of the other people on the sidewalk. “Was Adele a member of one of the greatest bands in history? Did Adele write some of the world’s number one songs? Was she _knighted_?”

“That last aspect feels irrelevant,” Enjolras noted blandly.

“Yes, yes, fuck the monarchy, we should all strive to self-govern and all that. The point stands!” Courf waved Enjolras off. Grantaire simply looked even more upset by this turn of events. Katherine was simply extremely amused.

“You really want to compare a voice like Adele, _Adele_ , to fucking Paul McCartney?! And we _all_ know that it was John Lennon who wrote the best of the Beatles discography.”

“Nice use of ‘discography’,” Kath couldn’t help but chime in.

R gave her one of his more charming grins. “Thank you.”

Courfeyrac just huffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Neutral third party.” He and Grantaire both turned to look at her and Enjolras expectantly.

Katherine threw her hands up, hoping to ward off any notions that she get involved. “Nope, you all keep saying I’m an enabler, I’m staying out of this.” Besides, she personally liked both and felt that they both had their merits and moods.

All eyes turned to Enjolras. He quirked an eyebrow as he looked between his boyfriend and his best friend. “Neither,” he finally said. “ _Goldfinger_.” And then he pushed past Courfeyrac to walk into the museum, leaving Grantaire and Courf staring at where he had just been in shock and Katherine howling in laughter.

~

The four of them were children. It was official. They eagerly participated in all the activities about spy training and crawled through the air ducts and positively _flipped shit_ when the James Bond Aston Martin came to life and showed off all the gadgets. Katherine was completely unashamed by their actions. Spies were _cool_ and learning about them in an interactive way was _awesome_ and they were like the only ones there anyway so what did it matter if they all geeked out a bit. A lot. A metric tonne.

Katherine had fallen behind a bit, too caught up in reading every little thing, when she heard Grantaire laugh from further along. Curious, she went searching for him and found him in a room completely devoted to carrier pigeons, rapidly taking pictures on his phone.

“Everything ok?” she asked, trying to figure out what was so funny about a taxidermy bird with a war medal.

“Yeah, yeah. I just have this friend online, she _needs_ to see this,” R said distractedly, frantically texting and likely sending off the pictures.

“I’m not gonna ask,” Katherine vowed and left him to his snickering as she went to find Courf and Enj.

They were sitting in the made-up movie theater, watching whatever it was that the museum showed on loop. They both got up and followed her when they noticed that she had poked her head in.

“Where did we lose R?” Courf asked as they played with the faux enigma machines.

“He was laughing about pigeons?” Katherine gave them a questioning look, hoping that they would explain it. No dice.

Enjolras snorted. “Course.” Courfeyrac just looked as confused as Katherine. He shrugged at her as Grantaire finally wandered in.

“I’m starting to get hungry and we’ve got a whole other floor,” he said, leaning against the table the games were on.

“Plus,” Enjolras observed.

“Well c’mon!” Courf leapt to his feet and lead the way onward. Katherine followed and he waited a beat so he could link arms with her, pausing again as Enjolras and Grantaire caught up. The hall was barely wide enough for them to stand four across so R stayed a half step behind as Courf started skipping. “We’re-”

“Not singing,” Enjolras interrupted as he skipped along with Courfeyrac. Katherine fell behind and wound up with Courf tugging on her arm because she was laughing so hard. Grantaire defiantly whistled the rest of the tune and Katherine hadn’t known you could defiantly whistle _The Wizard of Oz_.

~

It was well after one by the time they finally got to the Chinese restaurant that the boys had talked up so much and prompted the bringing of a backpack and actual ice packs to take home leftovers in. It was quite literally a hole in the wall and as a native New Yorker Kath rarely judged the quality of a place based on location or décor, she had her own personal list of favorite greasy spoons that dotted the city to prove it and the diner the boys took her to the other day should’ve told her to trust their instincts, but she was a little skeptical as she eyed the lobsters in the tank as they waited to be sat down.

Grantaire was pouring her a cup of tea as she read the menu and half listened to Courfeyrac read the day’s headlines off his phone. By not talking politics yet Katherine and Enjolras had successfully lost Racetrack the bet. However, Courf’s money was on today and he was trying to prompt his own win. Stubbornly, Enjolras made polite conversation with Grantaire about some tv show they were both watching rather than acknowledging Courfeyrac at all. Katherine thought it was a bit ridiculous but she really wasn’t listening to Courf and had been avoiding the news herself so maybe they just weren’t that interesting.

It was getting increasingly harder to not talk politics with Enj, like seventy percent of their friendship was based on bitching about the government. Well not seventy percent but still. They weren’t supposed to know about the bet but Courf had let it slip and now the two of them were determined to prove their friends all wrong. The were both so damn stubborn that there was a high chance of it actually working too. That and the fact that nothing particularly rant worthy had happened. However, Kath itched to ask him his opinion every time she got an AP notification so she had just temporarily switched them off. And then had to stop checking the headlines in the morning. She now was purposefully avoiding all news until after she knew Enj had gone to bed because the temptation was just so great and yes Katherine knew that was stupid of her but she _really_ wanted the chance to be smug.

When the waitress came they all rattled off their orders and Katherine no longer had anything to distract her from Courfeyrac’s attempted provocation. He had moved on to just reading Trump’s twitter at them and she could see Enjolras clenching his jaw. She wasn’t the only one.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, cut it out. He’s going to need major dental work if you keep going,” Grantaire rolled his eyes. “And I miss the rants too but that’s blatant cheating and you know it.”

Courf pouted but put his phone away. “Oh so you’re going to help them?”

“No. My money is on Sunday before Kath leaves, I’m making sure I have a fair shot.” Grantaire waggled his eyebrows as he smirked.

Courf looked scandalized. Enjolras gave R a dark look. Katherine groaned.

~

The food was insanely good and the portions huge. Kath had ended up adding at least two thirds of her order of fried rice to the backpack of leftovers. It filled up quickly and apparently Grantaire was a regular because they were given extra fortune cookies with a wink to him before they left.

Katherine was overfull and sleepy by the time they’d gotten back to the National Portrait Gallery. R went to put their bags and coats in a locker and Courf excitedly led her into the courtyard.

“This is my favorite place in the whole city,” he confided as he pushed the door open.

Katherine could immediately see why. It was huge with a high glass ceiling that flooded the whole open space with light. Tables had been set up and a water feature trickled softly. Katherine spun around slowly, drinking it all in. She felt calm and like she could immediately take a nap if she laid down on one of the huge marble slabs.

She turned back to see Courf watching her carefully. When he noticed her expression his whole face lit up, she knew it was because her awe was clear. Enjolras stood a step behind him, hands in his pockets as he turned his face up towards the sun. They looked at home here in this place of the traditional mixed with the modern, Courfeyrac with is brightly patterned button-down and Enjolras with his dark sweater.

Katherine smiled at them, she loved D.C. so much but New York was her home. New York held her heart and was where she fit. Standing here though she could see that as much as she loved this place, this singular spot of many in the city, she could physically see that it was their home. That this is where Courfeyrac and Enjolras fit. It was a weird and sudden realization to have but she stood by the truth of it nonetheless. Grantaire walked up behind them, his flannel flaring out slightly as he did, and Katherine recognized it again.

She knew that she was staring at the three boys with a goofy grin but Katherine couldn’t help it, it wasn’t everyday that you had such realizations. Not earth shattering or world changing, but just a simple “oh duh.” It was still nice to soak them in.

“You good there, Kath?” Grantaire asked, breaking the spell.

She nodded. “Perfect.”

“Cool.” Grantaire smiled but she could tell he still wasn’t one hundred percent confident in her answer. Enjolras tilted his head and she knew he recognized what just happened, maybe not exactly but he knew that she’d had a sort of quiet epiphany. Courfeyrac had wandered slightly away from them, towards where a pair of little kids were splashing through the water feature on the ground. “Well then,” R was saying, “let’s go so I can sound like an intelligent human being for once.”

Enjolras shot Grantaire a dark look but he’d already turned away, headed back toward the door they’d just come from. Katherine shrugged at Enj. A gesture that said both “I get it” and “what can you do?” Enjolras’s eyebrows just crumpled in annoyance.

Courfeyrac whirled back toward them, completely missing the silent exchange. “Presidents? Presidents. I need to pay respects to my president.”

“Press F!” Grantaire called over his shoulder. Courf cackled and Katherine rolled her eyes but Enjolras? He closed his eyes and sighed in the silent exasperation one normally saw on overworked moms. It was hilarious.

They trooped through the museum, heading up the steps and finding the exhibit with ease thanks to Courfeyrac knowing the way. He confessed that he liked to come here a lot to study in the atrium. That sure it was a trek but that space made up for it and sometimes he just couldn’t concentrate at home.

“Combeferre and Enjolras are the _messiest_ studiers. I swear.”

“Are not!” Enjolras protested.

“Yeah, not fair to attack Ferre when he’s not around to defend himself,” Grantaire said with a wicked grin.

Enjolras and Courfeyrac both gave him a flat look.

“But it’s true. You both spread _everything_ out and it’s nearly impossible to walk through the downstairs and at finals season I just cannot take that stress.”

“We have systems. They’re not messes, just materials that cover a lot of ground,” Enjolras explained primly. “Unlike some people Ferre and I aren’t actually messy.”

“Are you calling me messy?” Courf asked in indignation.

“I’ve used your bathroom. You have more hair products than I do,” Kath said, almost apologetically but not quite. It was a fact and you should never feel bad for the stating the truth.

“That’s not a _mess_ ,” he tried to argue.

“When they’re spread out all over the sink like that…” Katherine shrugged.

Grantaire clapped Courfeyrac on the shoulder. “If you think that’s bad you might not want to peek in my studio,” he told her.

“But that’s new?” Enjolras blinked at R in confusion.

Grantaire raised his eyebrows, she thought it was a look designed to make him seem earnest but Katherine thought it just made him look like the little shit he was. “Exactly.”

With that R high-tailed it into the exhibit, leaving Katherine with a shocked Courfeyrac and a horrified Enjolras. She just sighed and grabbed the boys’ arms, tugging them behind her as they made their way through the gallery.

~

After a dinner of leftovers they set about pushing the couch back towards the kitchen, the loveseat against the bookshelves, and rolling up the fluffy rug so it slid under the front table. With the set up done she instructed everyone to put on flat sneakers and went to grab her own converse. Kath hadn’t expected to be needing her tap shoes over break but she could easily teach some of the basics in converse. Heck, she regularly practiced in them in her dorm room because her roommate got mad the first time she broke out her dot and used her shoes.

She connected her phone to Courf’s Bluetooth speaker and scrolled through her spotify playlists. She found her tap one and put it on, bobbing her head along to the easy to follow beat of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You.

“Is this what we’re dancing to?” Courf asked as he finished tying the laces on the beat up vans she had last seen at the Halloween party.

“Yup!” Katherine had already set it to loop. They were going to hate it by the end of the night but it was low enough to talk over and the beat was so easy to hear and just the right tempo that she had a hard time justifying not using it.

Grantaire shimmied into the room, twirling in a tight spin and pulling Kath into a quick two step. She laughed and glanced down to make sure he’d grabbed appropriate footwear and yup he was wearing a pair of converse so covered in paint that Jack would be jealous. He twirled her as Enjolras slipped in. He had on red high-tops and she was so unsurprised by this.

In the back of her mind a voice said it might be hard for him to move his ankles in them but it was just a basics. She was going to teach them how to flap, shuffle, do a cramp roll, and a time step. He shouldn’t have any major problems and if he did she’d just tell him to loosen the laces at the top.

She let go of R as he twirled her again, spinning away with a smile. “You ready?” she asked them as they lined up in front of her.

Courfeyrac gave two thumbs up, Enj a solemn nod, and Grantaire a “Born ready!”

She stuck her foot out and told them to do as she did, tapping just the toe and ball of her foot on the floor in time to the music. “And step together. Switch. One, two, three, four…” She had them do the same with digging their heels before having them do toe heels forward and back. Unsurprisingly, Grantaire had the best rhythm and was picking it up with ease. Enjolras was a stiff but very precise and ridiculously in time. Courf… Courf was trying but he was having too much fun just goofing off to really be in time.

She taught them to shuffle and then to flap and had them do a series of each. Finally, after about the hundredth time through Shape of You and easily an hour and a half after they started she taught them a time step.

“And THANK you for the bug-gy ride,” she said in rhythm as she demonstrated the step. They were all laughing as she made them say it with her. “I swear it’s the way the rhythm is taught!”

“Doesn’t make it any less ridiculous,” Grantaire teased.

She did a complicated rhythm, much more difficult than anything she had shown them and even with rubber on wood it sounded clean and clear and the three stopped to watch. She ended by flipping R off, earning a round of laughs with their applause.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The International Spy Museum and National Portrait Gallery are right across the street from each other and the restaurant Chinatown Express is just up the street. All are worth the visit and exactly as described.  
> \- The atrium/courtyard of the Portrait Gallery is my fave spot in the city.  
> \- That rhythm IS how the single time step is traditionally taught. Fun facts.  
> \- Eventually Kath got them all to do a passable single time step and end with a stomp with jazz hands, imagine Enj, R, and Courf doing jazz hands at your pleasure and fill in suitable facial expressions.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay but I didn't actually finish this before the end of my spring break so we're back to writing between school work. Thanks for sticking with me!

The boys needed to make a grocery run and as much as Katherine would’ve loved seeing Enjolras rant about the expenses of organic produce and how sustainable farming was only accessible to those who could afford it and how was that supposed to help anyone? while Courfeyrac pondered the difference between free range and organic eggs and they ultimately just wound up lamenting food deserts in front of the shelf of cookies she _really_ didn’t want to spend her morning in Whole Foods.

Instead, she packed her bag for a day out on her own. Kath could hear the faint sounds of music coming from the closed door of Grantaire’s studio as she made her way down the steps to the second floor. She knocked, turning the knob and poking her head in when she heard him call out something that vaguely resembled a “come in!”

The beat resolved itself into the Amy Winehouse version of Girl from Ipanema and Kath smiled. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know I’m heading out.”

R peered around the canvas set up on the easel to her. She tried and failed to not raise an eyebrow at the paint that was smudged across his cheek and forehead and drying in his hair.

“You’re worse than Jack,” she observed dryly.

Grantaire’s face stretched into an easy smile. “I live to disappoint. Have fun, let us know of your plans for dinner. We were gonna try and meet up at the Musain tonight.”

“Got it,” Kath nodded. “Will do. See ya!”

“Bye Kath!”

She pulled the door closed behind her and set about unraveling her headphones as she made her way down to the door. Her tap playlist was still pulled up and she hit shuffle and play. It was filled with songs with strong steady beats that were easy to dance to and just as easy to walk to. Bobbing her head along to Moby’s Run On she set off down the street.

~

Katherine made her way towards the Library of Congress, not having any real plan for the day but wanting to at the very least say hello to the Gershwin piano and Jefferson’s library. There were barely any crowds as she padded up the marble staircase. Kath smiled up at the mosaic ceiling, looking at the words of writers who came before her. She knew that she’d never get a quote up there, it was a little late now since the building had been there for longer than she’d been alive, but Katherine wished that one day maybe her name would be mentioned in the same breath as Twain or Hugo or Dickens. But then again, she’d be thrilled if it was among the likes of Bly or Woodward.

Chunks of the Jefferson collection were still missing as the archives digitized the books. Smalls worked in the school’s archives and she had told Katherine about the hours just spent scanning and transcribing and typing up metadata. Important work but tedious all the same. No matter how cool it would be to hold one of those books in her hands, Katherine did not envy the archivists their task.

She was still bopping along to her music as she made her way back downstairs and across the hall. Kath always headed down to the lowest level by going under the arch that read “Knowledge is Power” and she wasn’t going to miss smiling at the reminder today. She paused the Beatles song that had been playing as she walked down the long hall past the Tonys and Emmys and Oscars.

Stepping into the small room the gentle sound of a piano washed over her. The familiar strains of Rhapsody in Blue floating from unseen speakers. Katherine walked up towards where the piano sat in the middle in reverence.

Her father wasn’t one to have idle hobbies, but the one thing that he loved was listening to Gershwin pieces. She recalled her mother playing the piano that rested in their sitting room as she sat on her father’s lap. She was only three or four and he whispered in her ear the history of each piece as her mother played and Lucy sat on the bench next to her watching her fingers intently. They had seen _Porgy and Bess_ whenever it was performed. Her father had even gotten opening night tickets to _Nice Work if You Can Get It_ for the whole family when it came to Broadway her freshman year of high school.

Katherine could say that she learned a lot from her father. Some good. Some bad. No matter how strained their relationship was, she would always appreciate that he taught her to love the work of George and Ira Gershwin.

She stood there – paying her respects, ruminating on the good memories she had of her father, enjoying the peace – for a long time. Longer than she intended. Katherine wasn’t sure quite how long she’d been slowly working her way around the room but the playlist had cycled through four and a half times. Taking one last look at the piano, Katherine whispered a silent thanks and left.

Kath blinked at her phone as she walked, she’d missed lunch and a few texts and snapchats. She wasn’t feeling particularly hungry and none of the messages seemed urgent so she slipped her headphones back in and started walking towards the other end of the Mall. She mapped out the blocks in her head as she walked down Capitol Hill, the sun casting the shadow of the dome out over the path she had taken. Or maybe it was the trees, Kath was too busy trying to remember if the National Archives were down one, over two blocks or down two, over one block or none of the above to really care.

She wound up just wandering through the Sculpture Garden to get to it, dismissing blocks completely. Katherine took her headphones out again and shoved her phone into her purse in preparation to go through security. She left them in her bag, wanting to soak in the stillness, as she headed towards the rotunda.

The normally snaking line was little more than a handful or people in front of her and Kath joined the back of the clump. They were allowed to go up and Katherine made a beeline for the Bill of Rights. Carefully, so not to get yelled at or trip any alarms, she leaned over the glass to peer at it. Katherine whispered along under her breath as she read the First Amendment, a smile curving her lips. She took a step back slightly and felt herself shiver. It happened every time.

Nodding at the guard, Kath turned to the Constitution and then made her way around to the Declaration of Independence. As usual, she was struck by the impact these words had. As she walked out of the rotunda, she renewed her silent vow, thinking “I’m going to write something powerful. I’m going to help people. I’m going to change the world. One day.”

~

Katherine had been on her feet all day so sitting down heavily on the train was a relief. She had told the boys that she would meet them at the Musain and it was easier for her to just go straight to DuPont Circle than to Georgetown to catch up with them and then on to DuPont.

She had messages from Jack and David too that she took the time sitting on the metro to finally answer. Jack was telling her about the day he had, how Medda had convinced them to enter the lottery for a couple shows and that he’d actually managed to win tickets to _Mean Girls_ for that night. He was taking Racetrack to see it for the second time and believe it or not Charlie had won _Be More Chill_ tickets too and he would be taking Sarah who absolutely hated the fandom but was deeply in love with the show. Kath smiled as she sent congratulatory texts and procured promises to tell her everything afterward. Bad luck about the camping trip cancellation but the universe seemed to be making it up in other ways.

David had just wanted to check in and they wound up texting about _Queer Eye_ since he’d been re-watching it in anticipation of the new season the next week. She was still texting him by the time she walked into the Musain. It was just before the café’s normal dinner rush so she made her way lazily through the mostly empty tables to the stairs, waving at the staff as she passed.

Katherine realized she wasn’t the first one there like she had expected when she reached the loft. Cosette sat with books and papers and laptop spread out on the table in front of her. A cup of tea gone cold at her elbow. As Kath walked closer, she saw that the papers were a mix between designs and patterns and sketches and spreadsheets and graphs and long calculations.

The other girl looked up as the floor creaked and smiled at Katherine. “Oh! Hello!”

“Hey Cosette,” Kath matched her easy smile. “Sorry I haven’t gotten to see you yet this week.”

Cosette waved her off and then motioned towards the fire hazard covering the table. “It’s ok. This has been keeping me busy so it’s just as much my fault too.”

“What is it?”

Cosette sighed heavily and Katherine settled on the couch opposite her. “It’s my midterm for my independent study.” At Kath’s raised brow she continued, “I have to design and budget a whole collection under a seven-thousand-dollar budget to make at least double that in profits.”

Katherine blinked and nodded, the calculations finally starting to make more sense.

“I don’t actually have to _make_ it, just prove it’s all possible. I’m, um, trying to prove a point to the head of my department that high-quality clothes can be inexpensively made and then mass produced completely ethically.”

“Ambitious,” Kath observed, leaning forward to peer at one of her sketches, “but very, very cute.”

“Thanks,” Cosette said with such genuine gratitude and Katherine had forgotten how _honest_ she was in everything she did. “I think that you’re my cue to take a break,” Cosette laughed and began shifting the papers into piles that went into binders that went into her bag. Kath made to help but Cosette just waved her off.

“So how’re your ferrets? Racetrack was thrilled to have a fuzzy little niece and nephew.”

Cosette’s laugh came out like a bell, not the tinkling kind associated with fairies but the loud clanging kind that heralded the passing of time, that auditory representation of change. Katherine always found it refreshing to hear such a unique and unselfconscious sound.

“They’re good. A little upset that I’ve been so busy with this project which is why I’m here and not at home. Yesterday Heidi chewed off the corner of one of my graphs that had slid into their playpen,” Cosette said in frustrated amusement. Katherine giggled and shook her head.

~

Over the next couple minutes the members of the ABC still in town slowly trickled into the Musain and up to the loft, filling in the spaces around Katherine and Cosette. Marius had apparently gone home for the break she’d been telling Katherine, something about trying to smooth things over with his grandfather. Kath grimaced in sympathy and wished him luck.

Grantaire flopped down on the couch next to Kath, passing a sandwich menu that had been snatched from the counter as he made his way past. She raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure we all have this memorized by now,” Katherine teased.

“They swapped things out,” Feuilly said with a frown as he studied his own menu.

“Why would they do that?” Kath wondered aloud.

“To fuck with us,” Jehan said happily and they all laughed. Katherine wasn’t positive but a part of her said that was the truth.

Katherine glanced over the menu, it was slightly changed from what she remembered. Thankfully her favorite panini hadn’t been removed so Kath joined R when he got up to go order. Enjolras passed him a sticky note with what he wanted on and Grantaire took it with a flourish, earning laughs from their friends.

They wound up standing in line, the dinner rush finally having started, and R pulled out his phone to fiddle on. He still had paint in his hair though he’d managed to wash it off his face and Kath was trying to hide her smile at it. Grantaire laughed at something and noticed when she tilted her head in a silent question.

“My friend, we're mutuals on tumblr, and she’s been offline for a couple weeks so I went to her blog to check if she came back and she added a misquote from me to her bio.”

“You have a tumblr?” She asked.

Grantaire laughed. “Kath, look at me and try to tell me I don’t look like the type to have a tumblr. It’s mainly art though.”

“We all know no one has a mainly anything blog,” she teased, thinking of her own.

R shrugged. “It’s better than Instagram at getting me commissions.”

Katherine nodded and the line moved forward. “Yeah, makes sense with reblogs sharing the information.”

“Jack says he uses twitter but I just can’t,” Grantaire shook his head. Katherine understood, if she didn’t use it to keep up with breaking news and share her own articles Kath wouldn’t have a twitter either. Which is why Jack was the head of their official account. She focused on content.

Grantaire looked up at her sharply, dropping his hand with his phone in it to his side. “Wait. Do you have a tumblr?”

Giving him a sheepish smile Katherine stepped up to the counter and avoided the topic by chatting with the girl behind it and ordering her panini and usual coffee.

~

The night passed in easy conversation. While Cosette still had the final details of her project to iron out, Jehan and Feuilly were both done with midterms though they both had work the next day.

“Wait,” Katherine interrupted Jehan excitedly, “you work at Kramerbooks?”

“Yes! It’s recent though. They were hiring and I’m there so often that they thought I might like the employee discount,” he said with a shrug.

“That is the most _you_ thing I’ve heard in a while,” Grantaire said, not unkindly. Everyone laughed but Katherine was too focused on this new and exciting tidbit.

“I _love_ that place. Like so much. It’s stupid how much I love that place. Especially since Charlie says the only favorite bookstore anyone is allowed to have is his and Aziraphale’s and because he’s fictitious he doesn’t count,” she said in a rush.

“Any bookstore is a good bookstore,” Jehan agreed. “Kramerbooks is by far one of the best. I like Capitol Hill Books too. Now there’s a place that might rival Aziraphale’s.”

“Yes, but that one will actually sell you books. Az would never,” Katherine grinned. She loved talking _Good Omens_ and with the tv show coming out it she found she could do so with more people than just Charlie. Though she’d wished that she knew Jehan was familiar with it sooner.

“Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” Courf stage whispered. Kath and Jehan just flipped him off as they moved to be closer and better chat.

~

The night dragged on and like so many last semester they found themselves being politely kicked out of the Musain so that they could close. Katherine shivered slightly in the brisk chill that had fallen when the sun had gone down. Hugs were exchanged and promises to be safe traveling home for their own breaks were extracted from Jehan and Cosette. Feuilly had been successfully badgered into coming to stay in the other spare bedroom at the Triumvirate House once his dorm closed Friday night.

“They’re so smug. Why do they get so smug?” Grantaire was asking Feuilly once he’d finally given in.

“Because they won,” Feuilly smirked in reply.

“Also! Because we get to see your smiling face everyday for a week!” Courfeyrac reached up to pinch Feuilly’s cheeks. He was a good sport, standing still and allowing it with only a minimal eye roll.

“And because you’re just as stubborn as we are so it’s rare and should be savored,” Enjolras said dryly. That earned a less than minimal eyeroll.

Katherine was fighting back laughter as they all finally parted ways for the night; it didn’t matter whether she was with the ABC or the Newsies, her friends were the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- [Girl From Impanema](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDsU4L15Ip8) and [Run On](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrBGUqNBEgE)  
> \- The LoC is sooooo pretty and the Gershwin Room is easily my favorite. I love that darn piano. The fourth wall does not exist in my writing at this point lol, alternatively Victor Hugo is known for his other works and Les Mis was just never written and/or written differently. Idk. The fourth wall doesn't exist.  
> \- Racetrack Higgins stans trashy pop and pop musicals and Mean Girls. Just. He does.  
> \- Watch the new season of Queer Eye, it's great.  
> \- Kramerbooks is THE BEST and sooooo cool and located in DuPont Circle and I spend way too much money there. Capitol Hill Books is an EXPERIENCE and while it's a bit of a walk from the Capitol South metro stop I highly recommend because the signs are hilarious and the whole store is just STUFFED with books and is just genuinely an experience.  
> \- Whilst Kath and Jehan talk bookshops and Good Omens the others have a very meta conversation about whether or not being fictitious should be relevant in arguments and then eventually Kath and Jehan get swept back into it and it turns into an EXTREMELY meta conversation about what exactly it means to be fictitious and how are they sure that they're not just characters in some story or multiple stories and once again the fourth wall does not exist.


	8. Chapter 8

Katherine was really starting to feel the pressure of the bet. At the Musain last night she and Enjolras had both been carefully steering conversations to try and avoid politics. It was now a full week and yeah sure the news was actually pretty mellow but it was still super weird and she was constantly checking herself.

To make matters worse, Courfeyrac had brought back a copy of _The Washington Post_ from his jog and it sat on the island taunting them. Enj finally flipped it over so that they didn’t have the headline staring at him and set his mug on it, allowing a coffee ring to form in a silent, defiant protest.

Katherine sipped from her own mug and typed at her phone, firing off a quick text to Specs that she didn’t expect an answer to. She was surprised when he immediately messaged back.

**Specs: -You do not hate our friends. Stop being so dramatic.**

**Kath: -How do you know??? You can’t prove anything!!!**

**Specs: -…seriously? Well for one you’re texting ME and I’m your friend.**

**Kath: -Are you sure about that?**

**Specs: -Fuck off**

**Kath: -Loooooooooooove yoooooooou!!!!!!!!**

**Specs: -Uh huh. You’re only texting me because Jack is in on the bet and you don’t want him to know you’re cracking.**

**Kath: -...**  
**-.......**  
**-.....................**  
**-I hate when you do that.**

**Specs: -It’s a gift. And you’re a stubborn ass.**

**Kath: -But it’s still the best ass in Manhattan. There was a vote.  
-Or so I’ve been told. **

**Specs: -LMAO I FORGOT ABOUT THAT. YEAH YOU DID WIN.  
-Admittedly I think a lot of those were just votes AGAINST race but still. Good butt. **

**Kath: -lol thank you!  
-In all seriousness I’m going crazy. And Enjolras is too. **

**Specs: -Wow. You actually typed that all out. I normally just don’t even bother.**

**Kath: -???**

**Specs: -His name. I normally just say enj.**

**Kath: -lmao no. I taught my autocorrect.**

**Specs: -RESPECT  
-Now let me go back to watching west wing with my grandma and text your boyfriend. **

**Kath: -You need to tell me how that is! Wait, does this mean you finished umbrella academy and sex education?**

**Specs: -You’re avoiding the topic. Text Jack.  
-Also no. I’m not watching either of those with my grandma! God Kath you heathen. It’s my grandma!**

**Kath: -Who regularly wins cards against humanity…….**

**Specs: -Semantics. Good luck. I know you two can handle this. If it makes you feel any better there’s no money on you two just not talking about it and the only ones who still have a chance are Crutchie, Jack, R, and Gavroche.**

**Kath: -HOW THE FUCK IS GAV IN ON THIS???**

**Specs: -He’s a little shit? I don’t know. I am staying out of this. Just being a good reporter.**

**Kath: -You mean gossip.**

**Specs: -Same difference**

Katherine snorted at that and flipped her phone onto its face. Enjolras was still scowling at the newspaper and his hair was a small cloud of gold sticking up around his ears. She started finger coming it for him and he was so tired and his mind so preoccupied he let her.

She had started in on a tight, little French braid weaving across his head when Grantaire walked in, blinked at them, and said “Fuck I need coffee.” He started making a cup and leaned against the counter as the machine whirred to life. “We get an actual paper today?” he asked curiously, nodding at what would have burst into flames a while ago if Enj had suddenly developed heat vision.

“Unfortunately,” he growled.

A second of surprise flashed across Grantaire’s face before settling back into careful disinterest. “Noted.”

~

Courf was bouncing on the balls of his feet on the train. It wasn’t particularly crowded so he wasn’t bothering anyone with his excess energy. He was, however, earning a rather dry look from Enjolras.

“We just went shopping yesterday,” Enjolras finally said, pulling himself to his feet as the train slowed.

Courfeyrac rolled his eyes. The sentiment couldn’t have been clearer had he shouted “Seriously?” Taking a deep breath and with as much patience as he could muster Courf turned to Enjolras as the doors slid open. “That was _grocery_ shopping. It doesn’t count.”

Katherine followed them onto the platform. “He’s right, it doesn’t. There is no joy in grocery shopping and you have to admit that.”

“I don’t _have_ to admit anything,” Enj sniffed. “I find grocery shopping tedious and annoying, yes, but I expressed that sentiment of my own free will.”

“Did you?” R prodded, turning from where he stood in front of them all on the escalator. “Or did Kath expertly manipulate you into saying so?” His head titled and eyes flashed in a challenge. Katherine grinned.

“What? How would that even work?” Enjolras blinked, his brows were drawing slowly but steadily together in exasperation.

“Well,” Grantaire drawled, “anyone who knows you in even the vaguest sense knows that you have contrary tendencies-”

“I do not,” Enjolras scoffed.

They all turned to him, Katherine could tell that R was smug and Courf patient. She was positively amused.

“And,” R continued, “a distrust for authority and really just an all-around vibe of antiauthoritarianism. You must have been a delight as a small child.”

Katherine could tell Grantaire was picturing kindergarten Enjolras refusing recess because his teacher insisted and everyone else was playing on the swings wouldn’t he like to too? With the earnest bite only a small child who was not just parroting, but genuinely meant their words could muster he replied with a “If everyone jumped off a bridge should I?” Or at least that was the scenario Kath imagined. She was sure R’s was similar by his wistful and thrilled expression.

Grantaire blinked back to the present and returned to the debate at hand. “So, it’s not that hard to believe that Katherine, being a good friend of yours, knew to bait you well enough that you would actually admit that she is correct. So, you did indeed _have_ to though you didn’t know it.”

Kath followed the logic, though it was all very Holmesian. Courfeyrac was nodding as they headed down the sidewalk, he didn’t seem inclined to agree but like Katherine he’d followed the argument and could see its point.

“That is entirely too much forethought placed into an offhanded comment with no real gain,” Enjolras refuted quickly, turning to glower at Grantaire as they all waited for the light to change so they could cross the street. “While I have no doubts about Katherine’s cunning-”

She preened at that. Having someone so smart, especially someone you respected as much as she respected Enjolras, call you cunning or clever or any variation thereof was always a compliment. No matter the circumstances.

“-I sincerely doubt that her intentions were to entrap me,” he concluded with an exasperated sounding breath. The light changed and Enjolras stormed off across the street.

Grantaire jogged to keep up. “Intentions or no, you have to agree that even free will can be manipulated.”

“We weren’t discussing free will!” Enjolras whirled on Grantaire, hands thrown up in the air. “We were talking about shopping and whether or not grocery shopping counts!”

“Well of course it does,” Grantaire blinked, “it has the verb ‘shopping’ right. There.”

Enjolras sighed and made to keep walking but Katherine had noticed that R was still standing and had gotten an overly mischievous look on his face. Courfeyrac furrowed his brow and Kath braced herself as Grantaire called out.

“You did ask how free will could be manipulated.”

Enjolras froze, a good five feet away from them at this point. He rounded slowly and an eerie expression of calm had settled over him. Katherine gulped, glad she wasn’t the one caught in his icy glare.

“Grantaire,” Enjolras said lowly, “by its very nature and existence you cannot manipulate someone’s free will.”

If Enjolras scared Katherine in this instance, Grantaire was positively terrifying. He had the same exact look that David got when they played poker. The look that meant after bluffing everyone else dry he laid down the winning hand and had known exactly how things would play out all along.  The triumph of a trap sprung.

“Well Enjolras,” Grantaire smirked, “how do you explain those heist movies you love so much? Your favored _Leverage_? Cons are simply manipulations of free will.”

A few seconds passed and no one moved. Grantaire continued to look like the cat that ate the canary and Enjolras’s expression was blank. Then he sucked in a breath and his face turned to pure fury before settling into annoyance. Eyes narrowed, lips pursed.

“You look like you swallowed a lemon,” Courfeyrac observed.

Enjolras ignored them and marched down the sidewalk. Katherine looked between Courf and R, waiting for them to say or do something. They just trailed after Enj, Courfeyrac looking resigned and Grantaire still smug.

~

Katherine may have spent a bit too much money at Kramerbooks. Jehan had shared his employee discount with her, thankfully, and a couple were gifts for Specs but still. Six was a bit excessive. Thirteen books in total? Well it was a good thing she had room in her bag.

Enjolras was still simmering down, allowing Grantaire to nudge him and take his hand when they’d left the bookshop but half-heartedly glaring and pouting all the same.

Their next stop had been a comic shop that Courfeyrac favored. Followed by wandering in and out of shops and walking to a different comic shop that Grantaire favored.

Katherine felt better about the stack of books she’d purchased when she saw the stacks of comics they were both getting. Even Enjolras had picked up a little graphic novel from the one and added it to his bag of books from earlier as they left.

They wandered back towards DuPont Circle and Courfeyrac pulled them into the dog park that they’d passed earlier. It was great. The owners were more than happy to let the group of college students pet their dogs and the dogs were thrilled to have new people to play fetch with. Enj had become fast friends with an overexcited terrier who had pretty much coopted his attention to play tug-of-war and it was adorable. Courfeyrac was definitely livestreaming the interaction to his Instagram. Katherine had settled next to an older golden retriever who had laid down at her feet and was giving her a belly rub.

Eventually they all got hungry and had to say their goodbyes to the dogs and their people. Courfeyrac was giving hugs to all the dogs that would stand still long enough to receive them. Katherine understood the desire though she had been drilled from a young age to politely ask to pet dogs, pet once, say thank you, and walk away. Courf apparently had gotten similar instructions but the pet once rule did not apply. It was more of a give the pups love and let them love you in return with no real set time constraints.

After lunch Enjolras and Courfeyrac were going to pick Feuilly up from his dorm and Katherine adamantly refused to get in Enj’s car again unless strictly necessary. Instead Courf had plopped a box onto the floor of the living room with a sticky-note list attached to the lid. R came in with his own box and set his own box at her feet as well.

“That’s my suggestions as well as the list Albert said he’s been trying to get you to read,” Courf said, nodding at the sticky-note as he shrugged his coat on. “R, get her started and we’ll be back.”

Grantaire gave a salute as Courf turned to leave. “Ok, we went over this but I forgot what we said,” he mumbled as he picked up the square of bright paper and sat on the plush rug.

Katherine sat herself next to him, leaning her back against the couch. R was pulling stacks of comics housed in plastic sleeves out and piling them in front of the two of them. She recognized the titles of some that Albert and Finch had been harping on her to read but she’d just never gotten around to it. Plus, the way they complained about things constantly being rewritten or rebooted or retconned or reanimated or whatever made her leery.

“Ok, _Earth 2_ and _Earth 2: Society._ Between Courf and I we’ve got the whole run. It’s a self-contained elseworlds type story, even if it technically is just another part of the multiverse.” Grantaire handed her the first pile and she blinked at him. “You know who Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman and all are?”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Yes. My brothers and my friends have made sure I know who the Justice League is. And I watched _Teen Titans_ growing up. I wasn’t raised under a rock you know.”

“Well sometimes…” Grantaire made a face at her. She gave him a look and he laughed, bumping his shoulder against hers. “Ok. So you don’t need like decades of comics history for this, just what you might already know. If you’ve got questions ask ‘em.”

“You want me to just start reading?”

“That is why I handed you the comics.” Grantaire was pressing his mouth into a tight line to keep from smiling and his eyebrows were inching into his curls.

Katherine rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and set about pulling the first issue out of its plastic.

They were still on the floor reading comics when Enjolras and Courfeyrac returned with Feuilly in tow. They’d spread out significantly across the rug and Grantaire had gotten his own pack of sticky notes to label each pile for her. On a stack of _Wonder Woman_ from the 80’s was “A+F suggested, R seconded” on both the stacks of _Jughead_ and _Josie and the Pussycats_ was “Courf suggested” and on the pile of shiny graphic novels that proclaimed themselves _The Wicked and The Divine_ was “R suggested. Chetta approved. You’ll LOVE!!!” Apparently, the story she was currently reading about a new Justice League type team being formed in a world reborn following the death of Earth’s famous heroes was one that Albert had been ragging on her to read and Grantaire had texted him to say she was finally doing so. She’d discovered this when she received the text of “FUCK YEAH FINALLY” from Al.

“I can carry my own bag, thank you Enjolras,” Feuilly’s voice could be heard drifting over the back of the sofa. It was colored in fond exasperation and Kath set the comic down to peer into the kitchen at the three boys.

“He’s annoyingly chivalrous,” she called out in agreement.

Enjolras turned pink and sputtered, trying to dispute it but just getting a pat on the back from Courf and a “You can’t argue with facts.” Courfeyrac slipped away before Enj could turn on him and try to argue, ushering Feuilly through into the living room in front of him.

“The room next to yours?” Feuilly asked as he made his way towards the staircase.

Courf nodded in confirmation and hopped the back of the couch to peer down at Katherine. “Ooooh. Good choice for a start,” he observed, pointing at the comics. “How far are you?”

“Not very,” she admitted. “It took me a while to actually figure out how to read them? Which sounds really dumb.”

“It’s not,” Courf said firmly. “I used to just read the dialogue and would get so confused because I’d never like look at the pictures.”

“Exactly!”

“Yeah, it can take a bit to like retrain your brain,” Courf assured her. “But you’ve been good on the story? Cause like Marvel and DC can be just godawful to read without like thirty different wiki tabs open at the same time if you’re just starting out. And that’s like not the main canon but still.”

“Nope, I’m actually really enjoying it so far!” Katherine was. It wasn’t what she expected and all the characters were being introduced to the reader. She figured that there were nuances that fans might notice and Grantaire had been giving her fun facts as he reread the issue she’d finished so it was really quite fun.

Courfeyrac grinned. “Good. We’ll convert you yet.” He gave an eyebrow waggle and Katherine couldn’t help but laugh.

“We’re not converting anyone,” Enjolras interjected, coming to sit next to Courf on the couch.

“Not even to your cause?” R blinked up innocently from where he was laying on his back.

“That’s not conversion. That’s convincing.” Enjolras pulled out the graphic novel he’d picked up at the store earlier – it was a biography of the Marquis de Lafayette – and began reading. Katherine shared a look with the other two before they all burst out laughing. Feuilly walked in, looking utterly confused and making Katherine laugh even harder.

~

It was an open mic night at the Musain again but with almost all the colleges and universities officially being on break it was pretty empty. Grantaire had brought his guitar along and immediately signed up for a slot when they passed the clipboard on the way up to the loft.

“You should sing something,” he’d told her, but Katherine shook her head.

“You’re very good,” Enjolras told her solemnly.

“And!” Courf chimed in. “There’s barely anyone here.”

Katherine turned to look at Feuilly expectantly, thinking he’d join in on the encouragement. He just shrugged, “You do you.” The other boys all gave him glares and Feuilly held his hands up in defense. “Hey, she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.” He began walking up the steps and paused, turning back to them to say, “Besides, you know she’ll sing along to Queen if you put it on.”

Katherine gaped at his retreating form as he jogged up the steps. Unexpectedly betrayed, Kath stood there still reeling in shock. Knowing it was true, the other boys didn’t bother to continue trying to convince her to sign her name and instead moved to follow Feuilly. Katherine turned to get herself a coffee as a reward for putting up with their sass.

When the announcement came that they would be starting their open mic night shortly R pulled his guitar from its case and tuned it quickly before heading downstairs. Rather than turning the couch like usual the others just stood and leant against the loft’s railing, looking down towards the stage and café below.

Grantaire had his head ducked, talking quickly with the emcee and manager before taking the stage. He pulled a stool up to the mic that the emcee had just used to introduce him and settled the instrument on his lap. Katherine had never actually heard R play, though she knew he did. She was kinda excited, outside of the going away party the ABC had thrown her and Specs where they’d all been talked onto the stage and made to sing La Vie Boheme Katherine hadn’t heard him sing. Sure, he’d hummed along to the radio and they’d all drunkenly half-screamed Sweet Caroline the night after Christmas on the roof of Ractrack’s building but those didn’t count.

“Hey guys, so fun facts,” he said as he adjusted the mic, “I’ve been informed that since there’s so few sign-ups tonight I get to perform not one, not two, but _three_ songs for you guys.” There was applause from the people scattered throughout and the three of them in the loft clapped and whooped wildly. Grantaire’s gaze cut up to them and he twitched his lips up in a half smile. “And if you clap really _really_ loud maybe we can convince my friend Courfeyrac to come play piano for you.”

He gave an almost evil look up to the loft and Courf had widened his eyes and was waving his hands in protest. Katherine laughed with the rest of the crowd. Payback was a bitch. Eventually Courf just stuck his middle finger up at R and got a chuckle as R turned his attention back to the crowd at large.

“ _Maybe_. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll play so badly he’ll be forced to come down here and redeem our status as Those Regulars.” There were laughs and Katherine bumped her hip against Courf’s. “But until then maybe I should just play.”

Grantaire hummed into the mic, haunting and tickling at the back of Katherine’s mind with its familiarity. He slapped out a beat on the body of his guitar before he started thrumming a driving rhythm and eventually starting in on the first verse. She recognized the song now and frowned down at him. Not because he was bad, his voice was low and a bit gruff but charming. The only drawback was how painfully self-conscious he sounded. And finally opening his eyes on the chorus to sing “Icarus is flying too close to the sun” and staring directly at Enjolras didn’t help.

The blonde next to her had already been frowning and now he stiffened and the expression hardened. Grantaire glanced away, back to staring at the people who had gathered in front of the Musain’s small stage, and Katherine turned to Enjolras. She tugged lightly on the sleeve of the jacket he wore. He looked over at her and Katherine arranged her features into a questioning look. Enj’s response was a sharp and exasperated jerk of his head towards Grantaire who continued to sing about Icarus and falls and early graves.

It didn’t exactly answer her question, but Kath did think she was starting to piece things together. If the sarcastic nickname was any indication then it wasn’t too hard to complete the analogy. Coupled with the cryptic remarks about R’s drinking she’d overheard and his overwhelming self-consciousness and well now Katherine was annoyed at him too. She wanted to be a reporter, she could see and make connections. Enough to want to pull R aside and simultaneously wrap him in a tight hug and slap him.

They all clapped as the song came to a close though Katherine noticed that herself and Grantaire’s other friends weren’t quite as enthusiastic as they probably should have been. He thanked the crowd and flashed a grin.

“If you’re like me,” R started to say, adjusting the tuning on his guitar and Katherine shifted her weight to rest her elbows on the railing, “and your taste in music until you were like twelve was whatever your parents had playing then you might know this one. If not, lucky you. This is The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel.”

Kath snorted as Grantaire began plucking out the guitar opening. His voice was stronger, more confident, as he sang. It was different hearing the song with only a single guitar and a lone singer but it worked. Katherine liked the song’s almost anxiety inducing build near the end and was glad when R shifted his fingers on the neck of the guitar in such a way that the feeling remained.

This time when the song ended Katherine applauded and whooped with her friends, much louder than for the previous. Grantaire ducked his head, hiding his smile from their sight, and Katherine just yelled louder.

“Ok, ok. Thanks,” Grantaire was rolling his eyes up at them and Katherine decided to let out one last yell of pride, causing him to meet her eyes and glare a bit. “So this last song you’re all going to know and if you don’t please find me afterward so I can verbally berate you for living under a rock for the past half century. It also includes some audience participation at the end. You’ll know where.”

He bobbed his head a few times, settling into the rhythm before lifting his mouth towards the mic to sing. The whole café let out an excited breath as he did, instantly recognizing the beloved Beatles song. Kath was grinning and started waving her arms, bumping her hips between Enj and Courf as she swayed. Courfeyrac immediately joined in and got Feuilly to do so too. It took a few more bumps from Kath before Enjolras was convinced; finally rolling his eyes and shaking his head with an amused smile when he did.

“Na, na, na, na na na, na na na, hey Jude,” Kath sang along. They had all switched over from waving their arms to clapping and Courf was trying to coordinate a sway and clap. It was resulting in a lot of giggles and head shakes.

Grantaire had held up a finger quickly to indicate that this would be the last time through and when he ended with a hard cord the crowd erupted into cheers. Katherine one of the loudest among them.

R waved awkwardly in lieu of a bow, nodded to the emcee and scrambled towards the stairs.

Once he reached the loft he was stopped by Enjolras, standing there and indeed looking like Apollo incarnate in his quiet fury.

“You are not Icarus,” he said firmly.

Katherine felt awkward, intruding on what looked like a personal moment between them. She glanced over to see that Courfeyrac and Feuilly had started edging back to the table. Kath went to join them, knowing they’d congratulate Grantaire once whatever _that_ was was resolved.

By the time the emcee finally convinced one of the baristas to come sing with the inhouse accompanists the two boys seemed calmer. Enjolras ambled over to the rail and gave Courfeyrac a terse nod at his questioning brow. Feuilly frowned but didn’t say anything as Grantaire had finished putting his guitar away and joined them.

“You sounded great,” Katherine said honestly, hoping to defuse a little of the linger tension.

It seemed to work because R sighed and threw a lazy arm around her shoulders. “Thanks. Too bad I couldn’t get Courf to give ‘er a go.”

“I don’t play pitched instruments in front of people,” Courfeyrac sniffed in mock pretension.

“Bull,” Enjolras replied calmly, a smirk dancing across his face. “You were just playing the _Titanic_ thing the other day.”

The four boys all laughed but Katherine was lost. She looked between them hoping to get some sort of explanation, but none seemed to be forthcoming.

“That served a purpose,” Courf shook a finger at Enjolras who hummed skeptically in reply.

“A successful one,” Grantaire pitched in.

“Oh? Annoyance?” Enj asked dryly.

“So it worked?” Courfeyrac flashed his most charming grin before turning his attention to the stage below. There were huffs and laughs to that but no further bickering. Katherine resigned herself to never knowing and settled in for a laidback night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Kath and Specs's friendship is like my favorite thing  
> \- Does R play guitar because George Blagden plays guitar? I can neither confirm nor deny that. Does Courf play piano in addition to my headcanon that he's a drummer because Fra Fee does? I can neither confirm nor deny that either. Does Courf play the Irish Penny Whistle? Yes. But only ever the solo from My Heart Will Go On. You can thank a combination of Fra and Archie Madekwe for that particular headcanon.  
> \- R's set list is [Icarus by Bastille](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FehA9OwZflw) (a while ago I saw someone somewhere mention this as a very R song and as it's both a personal fave and something I totally second I couldn't help using it), [The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFML_pxlY), and [Hey Jude by The Beatles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQER0A0ej0M).


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, the semester has been getting a bit hectic.

Katherine flopped onto the couch gracelessly, voices filtering to her over the back of it from the kitchen. It was slightly early, or at least could be considered early, but Kath still felt like she should have been up about two hours ago.

“You good there?” Feuilly’s head appeared above her. He was upside down thanks to the angle, but he seemed genuine.

“Yup,” Katherine popped the sound at the end of the syllable, which made Feuilly raise a skeptical eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.

He opened his mouth as though he was going to, but he was cutoff before he could. Courfeyrac had cried out from the kitchen saying, “Come here! We’re discussing plans and who is responsible for buying the booze for tonight!”

Kath gave Feuilly a questioning look and he just shrugged, either not knowing or not caring to tell her what tonight was and why alcohol was necessary. Feuilly disappeared from her field of vision and Kath knew that meant that he’d listened to Courf and went back to the kitchen. With a huff she pushed herself to her feet and shuffled over to her stool.

A mug of coffee just how she liked it was placed in front of her. She looked up to meet Courfeyrac’s eyes, he was smiling kindly and was the only one in the kitchen not still in their pajamas. Instead it was a burgundy short-sleeved button down with little white doodles of what looked like, “Are those telescopes?”

Courfeyrac’s face lit up. “Yeah! It was a birthday gift from Ferre!”

“You don’t say,” Katherine’s mouth slipped into a smile of its own accord. “How very on brand for both of you.”

Courfeyrac snorted. “And that’s your pre-coffee sass quota met, right?”

The noise Katherine made wasn’t really a reply but was definitely an affirmative. Courf shot her an amused and knowing grin as he turned back to what looked like leftover Chinese for breakfast. She took a sip of her drink, slouching over the counter.

“There was planning to be done?” Feuilly prompted now that they were all gathered around the island in varying levels of wakefulness.

Enjolras nodded as he finished taking a sip of his own coffee. “Yes. I’m going to pick Combeferre up from the airport in a couple minutes and then I was thinking of doing some light picketing.”

“And the house is dry right now so if we want to have that little soiree like we talked about someone is going to need to buy the drinks,” Courf added, it was muffled slightly by the mouthful of pork. Luckily for Katherine she’d had practice translating English from Boy Talking With His Mouth Full.

Grantaire sat up straight all of a sudden. He had been slumped over the marble countertop next to her, cheek pressed into the cool surface giving her a great view of his dark curls that seemed to have glitter in? She hadn’t gotten a good look though before he’d jerked upright. Kath thought it might have been the mention of the decided lack of alcohol in the house that caused it.

“Light picketing?” R asked incredulously. She blinked at him, caught off guard, as he stared at Enjolras. The blonde was frowning and Katherine leaned forward slightly to get a better look at the mischievous delight that was spreading across Grantaire’s face. “Please do expand upon that one. I would _love_ to know what exactly constitutes ‘light picketing.’”

Enjolras let out an exasperated huff and set his mug down on the counter. He was rolling his eyes and definitely about to start explaining exactly what he meant by the phrase when Grantaire interceded.

“No no, wait, I know what it is,” R pushed back against the counter so his stool was resting on the back two legs. “It’s just a poster board with black sharpie and reads ‘Enough of This’ rather than the normal flashy sign. And you just stand in front of the White House with it. No yelling. Just standing.”

Enjolras had closed his eyes as he stood across the counter from them. The expression on his face was one unique to him. It was a combination of exhaustion, frustration, quiet resignation, and mostly complete and utter exasperation.

Opening his eyes, Enjolras raised an eyebrow at Grantaire. Katherine was able to see the dark-haired boy go from delighted devilry to besotted. It was a subtle shift, but she knew him well enough to recognize it. Seeing it happen helped too. R was really and truly twitterpated.

“Well if you’re both done,” Feuilly said dryly when a beat passed without any further comments.

R hummed, letting the stool fall back to all fours. “I think for now.”

“Perish the thought,” Enjolras mumbled but that was definitely a smile he was trying to hide with his mug. Cute.

Courfeyrac coughed, it was obviously trying to cover a laugh. Katherine could tell, she’d done it enough times when speaking with her father and his colleagues. “So?” he asked. “Booze? I am of the legal age to make the purchase but I cannot carry it all.”

“I’m still not legal,” Katherine admitted sheepishly. Grantaire clapped her on the back consolingly, shaking his head and looking at her with pity. She shrugged his hand off and pushed at him.

“Well, since Kitty Kat-” R started.

Katherine whirled on him with a hard look and a harsh “No.”

R raised his eyebrows, stunned. “Uh, sorry. Since Kath can’t I’ll go with and help you Courf.”

Courfeyrac used the same hand that was shoveling pork into his mouth with a fork to give Grantaire a thumbs up.

“I can chip in,” Feuilly offered.

Four people replied simultaneously, Kath one of them. “NO.” Feuilly opened his mouth to argue but wisely kept quiet at a look from Courf.

Kath slipped off the stool and headed towards her bedroom. She rummaged through her suitcase until her hand closed on an envelope that her mother had given her before she’d left. Saying she was to chip in for expenses for the week but that Katherine’s discretion on how it would be spent was to be trusted. Kath figured that this was a better use for it than on the knick-knacks her mom was expecting her to put it towards. Besides, this way the boys might actually accept it.

She’d barely been gone a minute but Enjolras and Feuilly seemed to have managed to have gotten into the midst of a silent argument during that time. Katherine dropped the envelope of cash on the island between them.

“I can’t actually _go_ to the store and buy it but I can _fund_ the booze. Plus, I owe you for all of last semester,” Katherine said mildly.

Courf looked down at the envelope before looking back up at her. “Well that’s one hell of a mic drop.”

Kath shrugged, smirking behind her coffee.

~

In spite of her better judgement Katherine rode with Enj to pick Combeferre up from the airport. Feuilly had signed up to volunteer with an afterschool program in Arlington that they dropped him off at on the way. Enjolras had offered to come back and pick him up again in a few hours to which Feuilly raised a pointed eyebrow at the metro station they had parked beside. Enjolras blushed but didn’t argue it further and Katherine waved when they pulled back into traffic.

She held the Oh Shit Bar for the entire ride to Reagan. Kath didn’t get carsick but something about the little Jetta and Enjolras’s driving wanted to change that. He’d slowed down once they reached the parking lot but the endless circling to find a spot didn’t exactly help any. Before Enj could even take the key out of the ignition Katherine was already stumbling out the passenger side door.

“Oh c’mon. I’m not that bad,” he frowned at her over the top of the car.

Katherine pushed the door closed and met his look with a grimace. “I think it was the looping around the lot that did it.” He seemed slightly mollified by that and they set off for the airport itself. “Although,” Katherine added, feeling a little mean, “I’ve been less worried in a New York cab.”

Enjolras glared at her and Katherine threw her head back as she laughed. Some things were just too easy. No wonder R liked teasing him so damn much.

They found a bench to wait on and Katherine spent some of the time they had until Combeferre’s flight landed fighting with the airport wifi, trying to watch _The Umbrella Academy_ on her phone. She finally gave up and pulled her notebook out of her bag, flipping to a blank page. Enjolras looked up from the book he was reading at the sound of her rummaging around for a pen.

“Do you think I could have a page?” he asked. “I’ll let you borrow my pen in exchange,” Enj smirked.

Katherine gave up on her search, slightly embarrassed as she normally had about five different writing instruments on her person at any given time – she was a strong believer in never going anywhere without a sharpie for Reasons – but it seemed like all of them were lost somewhere to the black hole that was the overlarge purse she’d been using all week. Kath ripped a page out of the back of the journal and passed it to Enjolras. He clicked his pen and in careful block letters wrote across the page. Finished, he passed her the pen with a smile.

“Aha.” Katherine saw what he had done and grinned. “So, you’re the one responsible for the welcome sign.”

“No, Grantaire painted that.”

“But it was your idea.”

Enjolras’s lips twitched. “Only partially.”

Katherine shook her head as she laughed. He joined her in the laughter and let her steal the little sign to doodle stars and smiley faces around the “COMBEFERRE” that Enjolras had written.

Once it was suitable for use, they started playing tic tac toe; filling up an entire page with the little crosshatches of x’s and o’s. Katherine then started making up madlibs, having Enjolras provide her with random words as she wrote to mixed but undoubtedly amusing results. Enjolras’s phone pinged with Ferre saying he’d be out soon, and they scrambled to stand with their little sign.

They scanned the flood of people coming from the baggage claim and Katherine spied him first, eyebrows scrunched as he typed something on his phone. She nudged Enjolras and nodded to where Combeferre was just looking up. They held the sign a little higher and Kath could see the instant it registered in Combeferre’s brain because his face flickered from confusion to recognition to amusement.

“You didn’t need to come pick me up, I could’ve just taken the metro,” Combeferre said as he reached them. “Especially since it’s turned you into a chauffeur.”

Enjolras blinked in mock innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Katherine, am I wearing a hat?”

She schooled her features into a serious expression and raised up onto her toes to check the top of his blonde curls. “Nope. Doesn’t look it.”

“Hmm. Odd.”

“Cute,” Combeferre said dryly, grinning at them. Kath finally broke and stood there grinning back before pulling him into a hug. “Hi Katherine,” Ferre laughed into her shoulder.

“I’ve missed you! So much that I actually braved Enjolras driving to come with,” she joked.

Ferre laughed and Enj glowered. “Really?”

“Low blow but worth it. You lie down with dogs you wake up with a raise and a promotion,” Katherine replied with a shrug.

“That… that makes no sense,” Enj blinked.

Combeferre had snorted and started steering them back out to the parking lot. “In this context it doesn’t _quite_ fit, but I do like the sentiment.”

Katherine beamed at him. “Why _thank_ you. I knew I missed you for a reason, Ferre.”

~

The boys were bantering back and forth as they walked from the car to the House as Katherine trailed behind them smugly. Combeferre shared her views on Enjolras’s driving and had been cursing under his breath just about the whole way. They were now both trying to prove themselves right and Kath just felt vindicated.

“I’m going to go get the protest supplies and you need to put your luggage away but we will continue this conversation later,” Enjolras said as he shed his jacket and threw it on the counter.

Combeferre raised a teasing brow. “You mean this ill-conceived notion and attempt to defend yourself?”

Enjolras huffed – Katherine was fairly sure it was a laugh, but it just as easily could’ve been annoyance – and headed towards the basement. Ferre gave a little self-satisfied smile before nodding to her and taking his stuff upstairs. Kath shrugged off her own coat and dumped both it and her bag on a stool to trail after Enj.

The wood boards of the stairs were well-worn and slightly dusty, creaking as she stepped. The basement was dim and cooler than the rest of the house; Kath shivered as she squinted and waited for her eyes to adjust. Standing at the bottom of the steps and peering around she could see a washer and dryer, a laundry basket heaped with what could only be the Left and Found, and a large freezer and second fridge that she would’ve questioned how they had gotten down there had she herself not helped move most of a bedroom in and then back out of the very space a few days prior. What Katherine decidedly did not see was an Enjolras.

There was a rustling from under the stairs and so Kath turned to step further into the space. She found Enj crouched over plastic milk crates and rummaging through them.

“What ‘cha doing?” she asked, trying not to sneak up on him.

“Trying to…” Enj shoved one of the crates aside and moved on to the next. “Figure out… which of these aren’t dry.” He frowned at the small pile of what to Kath just looked like craft supplies.

“You don’t just have ready made protest signs?” Katherine asked, she felt herself smirking but couldn’t help it. The question was genuine, but this was such an easy way to tease him.

Enjolras sat back on his heels. “Well yes. But I wanted to make another one.”

Shrugging, Katherine bent down and grabbed one of the crates. “Fair enough. We’ll just bring it all then.”

Chuckling a little, Enjolras grabbed another. “I guess we will.”

They made two trips back down to get the rest of the supplies, pushing the carpet out of the way again so that they could spread out on the floor in the living room.

Combeferre raised a brow when he found them like that. “I must ask, does working on protest posters count as talking politics? Because if so I believe Gavroche just won.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Enjolras muttered. Kath frowned at the list of sayings she had been coming up with.

“I mean, so long as you two haven’t actually _spoken_ about it I don’t think it counts but you definitely both can’t be here like this when Courf and Grantaire get back. And you can’t both go protest,” Combeferre reasoned.

Katherine sighed and looked over to Enjolras. His face was pulled tight in thought. He met her gaze and looked at her in question. She shrugged. He sighed. They had both come to the same conclusion.

“I’ll just find something to do,” Kath offered. “You were the one who wanted to go in the first place.”

“I think that it’s important to not become complacent,” he said.

“Which is why I just won’t come. I’ll go to the Musain and work on an article that I’ve been playing around with or something.”

“We could see if there’s any embassy events today,” Ferre suggested from where he still leant against the doorframe.

“That would be fun,” Katherine grinned.

“I’ll get my laptop and you get out of here before you two get caught,” Ferre laughed.

“Get caught,” Enjolras repeated, shaking his head as he grinned at Combeferre’s back. “That makes it sound like we’re plotting to overthrow the government.”

“Well…” Katherine trailed off as they both started laughing.

~

While there were no free events at any of the embassies that afternoon Katherine and Ferre wound up going to the zoo while Enjolras, Courfeyrac, and Grantaire were going to protest in front of the White House. The latter two had returned with copious amounts of alcohol not soon after she and Ferre had resettled in the kitchen and he had given her a knowing look when they cursed at seeing Enj making a poster by himself.

Kath had questioned why Grantaire was going with rather than tagging along to the zoo and he’d just replied with “I like to heckle.”

The zoo was really nice and while the weather still wasn’t warm it wasn’t freezing cold either. For early March it really wasn’t so bad. Combeferre seemed to have a fun fact for just about every animal they saw. Katherine was impressed. He also had a bad joke for most of them too. That she was less impressed by but thoroughly amused.

After a few hours they made their way back to the Triumvirate House to find the others already there and starting to cook dinner. Katherine effortlessly fit herself into the action as she slipped between the boys to set the dishes out on the island. It was nice, reassuring, to know that she had found a place with them and kept it even after so many weeks away. That Katherine was as at ease here as she was with Jack, David, Charlie, Specs, and Race and Spot. It made her all warm and fuzzy with happiness.

Over dinner Kath was regaled with stories from in front of the White House, with Courfeyrac and Grantaire reenacting some of the people they witnessed. Feuilly talked about the kids he’d worked with and Combeferre told them all about how well his conference went with Enjolras chiming in with an earnest “Well of course, you’re you.”

As Katherine helped to wash up after someone put music on that reminded her of the classic rock station that Spot and Blink both swore by. R started making trips back and forth from the basement, bringing more and more drinks up on each trip.

“We’re all getting drunk tonight,” Courfeyrac observed, or maybe stated. It was hard to tell.

Katherine wasn’t the only one who thought so as Grantaire paused before heading back down to the basement. “That was the plan…”

“Oh, I know. I was making sure these two don’t try to weasel their way out of it.” He raised his eyebrows at Enjolras and Combeferre, daring them to try and argue.

“Besides,” Kath chimed in, hoping to help, “it’s my last night. We can just hang out and goof off.”

Courfeyrac pointed at her, emphasizing what she’d just said and quite literally gesturing that he agreed with her.

“I’ve got nowhere to be,” Feuilly said, grabbing one of the bottles and a plastic cup. He made himself a Jack and Coke, heavy on the Jack, and thinking that made Katherine giggle.

She quickly poured herself a cup full of wine and saluted Feuilly with it, they each took a sip before turning to look at their friends expectantly. R placed the last of the bottles on the counter and grabbed an entire bottle of wine for himself, drinking straight from it and saying, “You don’t gotta tell me twice. Hell, you don’t gotta tell me once.”

Katherine giggled and looked again at Enjolras and Combeferre. Courfeyrac was opening two hard ciders and passed one to a longsuffering Ferre. With a resigned sigh Enjolras mixed himself a drink. Kath didn’t see what exactly, too busy performing a little victory dance that culminated in her swiping up the speaker and leading the way into the living room.

They started off the night by playing Never Have I Ever and after deciding at the end of it that they were all too sober for another round Courfeyrac ran upstairs and came back with a deck of cards so that they could play a couple rounds of Ride the Bus and get thoroughly drunk. They played some other games and there was talk of pulling out the House Drenja but that was swiftly shut down when Enjolras went to stand to get it and wound up just giving up halfway through the motion and collapsing on top of Grantaire. Kath was set off into a giggle fit at that.

The games petered out and soon they were all just hanging out and talking. About themselves, about their friends, about their classes, their families. Normally the topic would shift to the world at large, how much they wanted to fix it. How they _were_ going to fix it. That always happened whether she was here or at home, that’s just how it worked with Kath and her friends. They got drunk and tried to save the world. In their defense, something they also did sober. Tonight though, that didn’t happen. For whatever reason, a subconscious effort on her and Enj’s part maybe, the conversation never went there.

Instead, Ferre talked about his nerves for the MCAT and Grantaire told the story of how he met John Mulaney once in a diner not far from campus and R swore the comedian had ordered a frickin lobster. Katherine’s stomach roiled at the thought and definitely not the alcohol, she hadn’t drunk _that_ much, because who in their right mind would order a _lobster_ from a _diner?_  Enjolras started to argue exactly that point to which Grantaire replied “This is the same guy who played What’s New Pussycat over and over again in a diner for the lolz.”

They continued like this for a while and Katherine found herself warm and sleepy and suitably comfortable curled up on the rug. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she blinked her heavy eyelids open.

“Can I braid your hair?” Feuilly asked, hands hovering like he wanted to play with her curls and she knew the feeling.

“Course,” Kath gave him a smile, drunk and soft and half asleep. She shifted so that she was leaning up against the loveseat, Feuilly’s legs bracketing her as he swept her hair away from her neck and into his hands.

“Oooh! Wait. Kath!” Courf slurred excitedly. She yawned, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t disappoint. “Your nails! Can I paint them?”

She shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” Her eyes slid closed again but she heard Courfeyrac rushing from the room.

She could hear Combeferre chuckle too, under the sounds of R and Enj bickering and shamelessly flirting and they should head to their room soon or if her experience with Jack was anything to base it on that bickering would lead to making out fairly soon. She’d also seen it happen with them first hand more than once herself.

She could hear that the music was still playing, and Katherine found herself singing along under her breath. “Cause I'm a picker, I'm a grinner, I'm a lover, and I'm a sinner.”

Ferre chuckled again and no that wasn’t really right. That one was a giggle. Yup, definitely a giggle and huh, Ferre was a giggly drunk. Normally he stay sober, or at least the least intoxicated; tonight that wasn’t the case. She felt Courf settle on the floor in front of her and she held out a hand to get painted.

“Is that really the wisest idea while drunk?” Combeferre questioned.

“Why not? I play piano better drunk,” Courfeyrac replied. Katherine opened one eye to stare at him, unsure if she heard that right. She was starting to doze off and Feuilly playing with her hair was not helping.

After a beat of deep thought and narrowed eyes Ferre finally said “But we don’t have a piano.”

“Student union,” Courf responded immediately. Ferre pushed his glasses up on top of his head so that he could pinch the bridge of his nose. Drunk Kath didn’t see the problem in playing the piano in the student union inebriated. Drunk Kath also didn’t see the problem in performing the opening tap number of _42 nd Street _on Jack and Charlie’s coffee table either so maybe Drunk Kath didn’t have the best judgement on this one.

Courfeyrac never got to start on her nails though because the song changed and her eyes both flew open. Feuilly released her curls and Katherine pushed herself to her feet, tiptoeing around the two boys on the floor so that she could dance, swaying and flinging her arms out to “It’s more than a feeling!” The bickering stopped and Grantaire jumped to start singing with her, grabbing her arms to just push back and forth in the worst ever approximation of dancing. She twirled away, pulling Courf to his feet to dance as R did the same with Feuilly. Ferre was next and then Enjolras was even coaxed off the couch and they all drunkenly sang along to the song before collapsing in a fit of giggles and deeming it officially time to chug water and go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Courf's shirt is real and my friend owns it. It also has little saturns on it too!  
> \- The zoo! Is so! Cool! Go when you're in DC!  
> \- I am not encouraging underage drinking but regardless of your age please consume alcohol responsibly.   
> \- The songs are [The Joker by The Steve Miller Band](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5N7qNid79s) and [More Than a Feeling by Boston](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSR6ZzjDZ94).


	10. Chapter 10

Katherine wasn’t hoping for a hangover, but she was expecting one when she woke up. Thankfully, past Kath helped her out by putting a water bottle on the night stand. Plus, it was a lot milder than she was expecting.

She took the bottle with her as she padded down to the kitchen still in her pajamas; leopard print boxers she wore as shorts and overlarge college t-shirt that she stole from her brother years ago. Around her everyone else still slept but she needed coffee. Coffee would help. Black coffee. Two sugars. But without a doubt coffee.

She started the Keurig up and leaned against the sink, tilting her head back to rest against the cabinets and closing her eyes. The whir of the machine matched the rhythm of her headache and Katherine couldn’t help but grimace.

A floorboard creaked. Katherine straightened to blink her eyes open and peer into the dimness of the hallway. R was walking toward her, hand half-raised in greeting. She jerked her chin up in acknowledgment, a mannerism she’d picked up from Spot, and went back to closing her eyes. The coffee started pouring into the mug she’d grabbed and the whole space filled with the scent.

“There enough for me?” R asked. She could feel him brushing past her to grab a mug. The cabinet to her right carefully being opened and closed.

“Yeah,” she mumbled, “probably.”

Grantaire chuckled as he pressed the hot ceramic into her hands. “Add your own sugar, sugar.”

“Whatever you say, honey.”

He snorted and Kath opened her eyes with a smile. She was pleased to see him shaking his head as he grinned at her bad joke.

Carefully, Katherine pushed herself back to standing upright and went in search of the sugar. It had a bad habit of not being where it was supposed to be as the occupants of the House had a silent war about whether it belonged with the baking supplies, tea and coffee, or spices. Supposedly, R would stick it with the condiments in the fridge when the battle was particularly intense as proof they were all being ridiculous. But Kath had yet to find it there.

This morning it was with the spices, so Enjolras was winning, and Katherine returned it to the cabinet of teas and coffee as she agreed with Combeferre that was where the sugar ought to be since that was what they used it for the most. Grantaire didn’t comment – likely because she was decidedly not a morning person and probably a little more than obviously mildly hungover – but he did raise his eyebrows at that. Katherine raised her own as she took a sip from the mug.

“You nursing the same hangover as me?” He asked as he joined her in holding up the countertop.

“I doubt you have a hangover, you hardly had anything.”

R shrugged. “More than you think. And it’s been a while, I’m out of practice.”

Kath rolled her eyes and Grantaire shot her a devilish smile. They went back to sipping their coffee in comfortable silence. After a bit Grantaire broke it again.

“Greasy food do the trick for you?”

Katherine tilted her head side to side in a noncommittal gesture and instantly regretted it. “Depends. Normally coffee and water help the most.”

R hummed. “I think we’re going to venture to Capitol South for some breakfast. Or at least I’m going to petition that we do that.”

“I support that.”

“Well that means a lot to me. With your stamp of approval, I’m more likely to get traction from Enjolras and if Enjolras says yes then Combeferre can’t say no. Well he can, but it’ll be a losing battle. Everyone else will be on my side.” R spoke lightly but phrased it the same way she’d heard Spot and David talk campaign strategy for their elections class. Or Specs as he plotted out sources for articles. Or Charlie, Albert, and Finch planning for comic con.

Katherine just sipped more of her coffee; the mug nearly drained by now.

“They’re all still asleep. I think. Well, Enjolras is. Or was. Could’ve changed in the past few minutes.”

“You’re chatty this morning,” Katherine observed. She finished her drink and set about making a second cup.

“This morning? Do you know me at all?” Grantaire looked scandalized and Katherine giggled. He had a point.

They fell quiet again as Kath drank her second cup and R finished his first.

~

After a debate that was _extremely_ one-sided and culminated exactly as Grantaire had predicted they headed to the diner by the Capitol that the boys favored. It was busy on a Sunday morning and with six of them they had to wait a few minutes for a table.

Katherine wasn’t exactly sure if the French toast had cured her hangover or the continued fluid consumption, but the boys seemed much cheerer and she herself felt more awake and friendly with food in her stomach. The trek across the city wasn’t exactly tense but it was much like mornings at Jacobi’s before anyone had eaten: quiet, glares, short answers and biting sarcastic remarks. Though Kath realized it was essentially the same exact thing just different people in a different place.

“I thought that you were leaving yesterday for some reason,” Combeferre commented as they stood outside, waiting for the others to pay their bills.

Katherine shook her head and bundled her coat a little tighter against the wind that seemed to always whip down the streets on the Hill. “Nope. I’m taking the train home this afternoon.”

“Well I’m glad I got to see you, even if it was for about twenty-four hours only,” Ferre said kindly.

“I’m glad I got to see you too!” Kath gave him an earnest look, forcing him to meet her gaze from behind his glasses. He’d gotten new ones since the last time they saw each other. “I’m really glad that I somehow befriended someone as brilliant as you.”

Combeferre gave her a small smile, the duck of his head gave away his mild embarrassment. “You’re a good person, Katherine. I’m glad you fell into our lives.”

“More like crashed your coffee shop and drug Specs with me.”

“Well I’m certainly thankful for that, it’s nice to have someone to complain about bullheaded friends with that aren’t one of said bullheaded friends,” he smirked. Katherine laughed and nudged her shoulder against him, knowing that Specs felt the same and that Ferre knew it too.

The door pushed open and the rest of their friends fell out in a rush. Grantaire was still waving and saying his farewells over his shoulder as Enjolras tugged him so that the door could close behind them.

“Now what?” Feuilly lowered a pair of cheap plastic sunglasses from where they sat on top of his head.

“We walk off the carbs?” Courf suggested, twirling around to face them from where he’d already started heading down the sidewalk. Katherine didn’t need to be able to see to know that they all made the same face at Courfeyrac, the way he stopped walking and pouted was enough for her to tell. “Or… not.”

“Not,” Kath voted. “Can we, I don’t know, do something? Go somewhere?”

“Like where?” Enjolras asked. They’d all stepped aside so that they weren’t blocking the door but with the exception of Courfeyrac none of them had moved beyond the diner.

Katherine shrugged. “It’s your city, you tell me.”

“The ice cream list!” Courfeyrac tried again.

“And I thought I was the one who contradicted myself all the time,” Grantaire said wryly. Courf rolled his eyes and elegantly flipped R off.

“Have you been to the Castle yet?” Feuilly asked, turning to Kath.

Shaking her head, Katherine blinked in confusion. She wasn’t sure what he was referring to. Was quite lost in fact.

“The Smithsonian Castle. It was the original museum,” Feuilly explained and suddenly it clicked for Kath.

“Oh! No, I haven’t actually. I don’t know why.” Her brows pulled together as she tried to puzzle that out.

“A lot of people haven’t,” Ferre said kindly, having noticed the slight distress that Kath had been unable to keep out of her voice.

“Well c’mon. I think we have a grand total of three more hours with you?” Courf set off towards the end of the block, obviously having made the decision to walk down the hill to the museum. From what Kath could remember it sat in the center of the Mall and while there was a station not far from it she didn’t mind the downhill hike. Save some money, work off the carbs like Courf had wanted.

Grantaire had started whistling, it sounded sarcastic but then again most things R said or did could be categorized that way. When the tune finally resolved itself into something she recognized Katherine _knew_ it was sarcastic. She had started laughing the same time Enjolras cried “Oh not again!” Grantaire finishing the line about “the wonderful wizard of Oz.”

~

The Castle was really cool, as a building and history of the Smithsonian. They’d made it just in time for the tour and were joined by a family with two small children and an elderly couple as they followed the guide.

Afterward Katherine apologized but she needed to get back to the House to pack if she wanted to make her train in time. They all understood and made their way back to Georgetown.

As soon as they were inside Katherine made a beeline for the stairs and went all the way up to her room for the past week. She knew if she didn’t, she wouldn’t want to leave and would wind up procrastinating to the point of missing her train. Which wasn’t _that_ big of deal because it wasn’t like it was the last one of the day; she just knew that if she did that her father would have free ammunition against her for weeks to come.

She’d mostly lived out of her suitcase for the week but there was still clothes and various other belongings scattered around the room. Plus, she had to make sure that the darn thing closed. She never had a problem packing to go away, it was always the packing to come back when nothing fit.

Katherine left the door open and grabbed her laptop from the small desk next to it. She pulled up her spotify, Jack had texted her about some new musical out of the West End that he was obsessed with the other day and she figured now was as good a time as any to give it a listen. She was hooked and almost done packing by the end of Don’t Lose Ur Head.

“What’re you listening to?” Enj asked as he peered in, carefully remaining in the hall until she invited him in. His over-polite upbringing making him into some kind of vampire loitering outside of her space. She laughed at the thought of Enjolras as a vampire, the poor undead community would be whipped into shape and her friend would probably wind up in a Cullen-like situation about drinking blood. “Kath?” he asked again, snapping her out of her internal tangent.

“Sorry. Distracted,” she admitted, deciding against sharing her amusing train of thought with him.

Enjolras raised a wry eyebrow as he smirked. “I can tell.”

“You don’t have to stand there you know.”

He shrugged and stepped into the room, pulling out the rolling desk chair to sit in. “So, what is this?” he nodded towards her laptop where the music was filtering out of the speakers.

“ _Six_. It’s a musical from London about the wives of Henry VIII that Jack is apparently obsessed with and not gonna lie I might just be too. It’s really good and just _so_ clever,” Kath explained. She flipped her suitcase closed and frowned at it where it sat on the bed, seeing she’d have to either resituate its contents or sit on it for the zipper to close. Deciding on the easier of the two, Katherine hopped up to sit on it, squishing it closed, and tugged the zipper.

Enjolras was rummaging around in the desk and when she looked up, he had produced a post-it bearing a scribbled “8.7” that made Kath shoot him a curious look.

“For the landing. You stuck it and that little twirl was quite impressive, but it was still lacking some finesse,” he explained seriously.

Kath snorted. “You’re terrible.”

“Thank you.”

“The worst.”

“Hmm. I beg to disagree.”

Kath slid down off the suitcase. “True, true. There are _much_ worst people in this world. Hell, in this city.”

Enjolras’s brow furrowed and she recognized that look as that of an oncoming rant. He opened his mouth and froze. Katherine waited and was surprised to see his face crumble into a wince. “I was almost going to break the no politics rule.”

“Dammit,” Kath muttered, turning away to throw the rest of her things into her backpack.

“Just a few more hours until they all lose,” Enjolras offered, as encouragement for her or himself she couldn’t tell.

“It’s what they deserve, betting on us like that.”

“It’s just rude,” he agreed.

“But we’re going to do it. A few more hours and as soon as I’m off the train…” Katherine grinned, wicked and plotting it was the same smile she gave Jack when she and David approached him with an idea.

Enjolras matched it with one of his own and held out his fist for her to bump hers against. “A few more hours.”

~

They wouldn’t all fit in Enjolras’s little Jetta, thank fuck, so they rode the metro to Union Station as they were determined to all see her off.

It was loud as people rushed to and from the trains and around the shops that filled the space as they stood to say their goodbyes. It wasn’t the first time and Katherine knew it wouldn’t be the last, but it still sucked all the same.

“I’m glad that I got to see you even with my conference,” Ferre said as he hugged her and Kath squeezed him back.

“Me too. I’m glad to hear you did so well!”

“Thanks,” he said with a small smile. “Tell everyone hello for me.”

“Of course,” Kath promised and turned to where Feuilly was waiting to be next to hug her.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” was his farewell, making Katherine laugh.

“Only if I can’t avoid it,” she assured him.

“That’s all I can ask. If you need someone to bail you out though, call me,” Feuilly joked.

Katherine shook her head at him. “I’ve got a couple people ahead of you on that list. Particularly the ones who are in New York. I appreciate the offer though.”

“Well you’d do the same for us,” Courf shrugged, swooping in to hug her next.

“Yeah but that’s because I know you and there’s a high chance that you’ll all wind up arrested for some rally or another. Not for lack of planning but for too much passion.” None of the boys contradicted her and Katherine sighed. “But don’t go _trying_ to.”

“No promises,” Courfeyrac winked.

“You’ll be the first to know,” Grantaire said at the same time.

Katherine crossed her arms to maximize her unamused look. She had to unfold them when he moved to hug her though, wrapping them around his neck. He still gave great hugs and that was something she always missed about R. She felt him moving to let go and squeezed him a little tighter, having him squeeze back in return.

“Stay gold, Ponyboy,” Grantaire whispered into her curls and Kath snorted as she finally let go.

“Only you.”

R raised his eyebrows and gave a devilish grin. “Only me.”

Katherine couldn’t help herself from grinning back at him. She was still smiling when she finally turned to Enjolras. He stood a little too straight as he watched everyone else give her hugs and say goodbyes. Kath knew it was because he wasn’t a fan of knowing he couldn’t be there to help his friends when they needed it and Katherine leaving D.C. meant just that.

She stepped forward and pulled him into a hug, one he matched with almost bone crushing enthusiasm at first before remembering that Katherine needed to breath and loosing his grip.

“Thanks for letting me come visit,” she said as they still stood there hugging.

“Literally any time. You’re always welcome,” he told her earnestly.

Katherine tightened her grip one last time before letting go. She tugged on his blonde hair, the curls fluffy and loose around his face. “I like it long.”

“Me too,” Enjolras smiled.

“Maybe next time I see you, you’ll be able to put it in a proper little man-bun,” she teased. Enjolras rolled his eyes but he was fighting back a smile as his friends all laughed. They started teasing him about it too as Kath pulled her phone out to double check the time. “Ok, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you all soon? This summer? Maybe sooner?”

“Maybe Easter break?” Enjolras offered and Katherine liked that idea. She nodded as she smiled. “Now go get your train,” Enj shooed her, having seen her approval of the idea. She laughed with them all one last time before heading off for the platform.

~

The train ride was uneventful and long. Made longer by her desire to be back home. She had loved her spring break. Even though it was relaxing she was still tired after the travel and knew classes the next morning were going to be a pain in the ass. Getting some well-earned sleep wasn’t why she wanted to be back in New York though.

As soon as Katherine’s feet hit the platform in Grand Central she pulled her phone out and hit the call button on the contact that she’d had cued up the whole ride.

“So, it’s official, we won, now can we talk about the news cycle this past week?”

On the other end of the line Enjolras sighed, “Finally.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The Smithsonian Castle is the original Smithsonian Museum and it's super cool and features a history of how the Smithsonian came to be plus has objects representing some of the things you'll find in each of the museums. It's super cool and they offer guided tours twice a day that I highly recommend.  
> \- Vampire!Enjolras is inspired by [this amusing tumblr post by littlesmartart](https://littlesmartart.tumblr.com/post/183730844232/damnfinecupocoffee-littlesmartart) (and there's others, they're all great as is all their art) and the fic series [Sweet Like Blood, Sugar by Sunfreckle](https://archiveofourown.org/series/889059).  
> \- [Six: The Musical](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACmYNtb9Qc4&list=PLXY_vs6AyJebc41IXfNmtoL3TGMoHjhKG&index=1) is the show Katherine listens to that Jack suggests and it is AMAZING. I LOVE it. Go give it a listen. Like yesterday.  
> \- A grand total of $378.37 got donated to the ACLU since no one won the bet and Kath and Enj get to lord it over them for a while. They shouldn't since they had the moral highground but that was hard and the kinda earned it.


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